Leda and the Dragon
by agrice041519
Summary: When Draco sets his sights on a pretty Slytherin during his fifth year, he gets a bit more than he bargained for. AU HP.
1. Chapter 1

One

Draco watched with interest as Leda entered the Great Hall and took her usual place beside Tracey Davis. He'd spent the majority of his free time for the past few days observing her, carefully cataloguing any and everything that he could use, and outlining the beginnings of a plan. Draco could date exactly where is interest in her began exactly. It had begun when his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, bantered over the girls in their house.

"Do you know who has changed the most over the summer?" Goyle asked Crabbe from across their room.

"Who?" Crabbe dutifully responded.

Draco perked up a little in his own bed and even condescended to look up from his Potions essay to witness Goyle's confession. He found it very amusing that Crabbe and Goyle were just now beginning to explore the world of women. He and Blaise had started to take notice, at least to those girls deserving of their notice, ages ago. He didn't know about Teddy who was friendly with his dorm mates but quite and apart from the other boys.

Teddy acted as though he wasn't listening to the other boys' nighttime conversation, but Draco could tell that he was paying attention. Blaise was lying on his stomach atop his bedcovers reading. He looked up for a moment and shared a look with Draco in the pause before Goyle's great revelation which showed he found the same amusement in this as Draco felt.

"Leda Vieson," Goyle said appreciatively nodding his head with a leer on his face.

Although Draco had to agree, it sickened him to see Goyle's ugly, fat face express his desire for the girl. He told himself his horror was general rather than particular. Draco believed it would make him ill to think of either Goyle or Crabbe with any girl no matter how pretty or ugly. He hid this and was silent and expressionless as both Crabbe and Goyle turned to him looking for approval, a habit formed after years of following Draco's lead.

Draco returned to his work ignoring their comments on Leda's now more developed attributes. He focused carefully on his text and parchment but still managed to see out of the corners of his eyes the hand motions his two friends used to discuss the girl.

His mind made him ill as mental pictures formed as he half-listened to Crabbe and Goyle's vulgar conversation about Leda. He struggled to maintain an air of indifference, but he felt the blood draining from his face. Thankfully, Blaise put an end to it telling the two that they were disgusting and to shut their mouths before he got into bed and went to sleep. The boys around him slowly followed suit one by one until he alone was left laboring over his essay by the dim light of his wand.

Of all the Slytherin girls in his year, Leda Vieson was the one he knew the least. She came from a wealthy, respectable family as far as he knew, but there was some sort of scandal that hung around them. There was something about them that was known but never discussed. He'd heard his father mention something to his mother years ago about it but had been unsuccessful in learning details from either parent. Draco believed she lived with her grandmother, but he'd never seen the woman before. Leda was always dropped off at King's Cross Station by one servant or another. Beyond that he knew nothing of her home life.

As much as he knew about her family, he felt he knew the girl even less. In the four plus year they'd been attending the same school, Draco had never seen her utter a single declaration on any topic one way or the other. She remained neutral on every topic: blood purity, house superiority, and even the rumors that had spread about Voldemort's return after the Triwizard tournament last year. Every Slytherin had proudly declared their opinions on the first two, and suggested their feelings quietly of the last. Draco knew only that she was a talented witch giving Hermione Granger a run for her money in their classes and that Leda was particularly good at Potions and Charms. He didn't know, though, which were her favorite classes or if she preferred any over the others. As far as Draco was concerned, she was a blank slate with no ideas, opinions, or preferences which both intrigued and unsettled him.

He stared at her that morning at breakfast. She sat three seats down across from him affording a good view for his position. Draco took the time to seriously appreciate the changes the few months of summer had made in her appearance. Her straight, blonde hair had gotten longer as though she'd quite trimming it quite as regularly as she did in the past. Her face had lost its baby fat revealing the strong cheek bones, accentuating her plump, rose-colored lips, and showcasing her startling almond-shaped, violet eyes. She'd always been thin, but the summer had seen the growth of her womanly curves. Her school robes couldn't hide her more mature chest and flaring hips. She'd grown a little, too, but to Draco's eyes it had only been in her legs which seemed to extend down past her school skirt for forever. She was undeniably attractive, and Draco found himself compelled to know her better.

She seemed to be a reserved person, however. She was cautious and kept people at a distance. Tracey was the only person Leda seemed to prefer, but this favor could barely be called a friendship. Leda was polite towards everyone in their house, and Draco had no doubt that many Slytherins would consider themselves her friend. Tracey was only given the title in his mind, because Leda seemed to speak more with her than anyone else and partnered with her in class when they were given a choice. Beyond those slight familiarities, Draco couldn't discern any particular loyalty between the two girls. This interested him.

Slytherins were known for their ambition, but where it suited them curiosity was a trait just as strong. Leda was a beautiful enigma. His interest was captured by her aristocratic exterior, but his curiosity was flamed by what may lay beneath. He detected the possibility that inside that delectable body was a spirit that might match and come as close as humanly possible to worthy of his own.

"Draco," Pansy whined in his ear, "why do you keep staring at Leda?"

He hid his annoyance at the jealousy in her voice. He should have known that partaking of the physical favors she offered him would lead her to believe she had some claim over him. It was becoming rather annoying, though, at how clingy and possessive she'd become.

At the mention of her name, whispered though it was, Leda looked over in Draco and Pansy's direction. Draco refused to give in to her pointed stare and wouldn't hide that he'd been observing her. They shared a long, charged look over the table that Pansy recognized indignantly. She began to see she had competition in keeping Draco's attention.

Draco looked directly into Leda's violet eyes with his grey ones and said in response to Pansy's question, "I like what I see."

To her credit and to further intrigue Draco, Leda did not look away, blush, or show any sort of emotion at the direct way he had complimented her beauty. She held the unreadable eye contact with the boy until he looked away deliberately to regard Pansy who was turning purple with anger.

He was pleased with himself. He had accomplished two goals with an economical five-word-sentence. He had shown Pansy that he would not be limited by her and signaled to Leda that he was going to pursue her, a decision he hadn't made consciously but recognized later. It was a good morning's work, and he turned his attention to the Qudditich conversation at the other end of the Slytherin table effectively ignoring both girls.

Draco was assured of his success with Leda. There was no girl in his house who would or could deny him if he wanted them. He was _the_ Malfoy, Slytherin royalty, the Slytherin Prince according to some. He ruled like a monarch, too, leading the rest of _his_ house wherever he wished. He held the power of their house, and he knew it. He also knew girls were drawn to this power which was why he'd never have to fight for a girl…they would come when he called.

It was this knowledge and the knowledge of the effect his actions had set into motion that morning at the breakfast table that allowed him to observe with amusement a scene in Potions later that morning.

"Opps!" Pansy exclaimed quietly in a false tone behind Draco's table.

"Bitch!" Leda accused getting his attention completely. "You did that on purpose!"

Draco elbowed Blaise, and they two boys turned to watch the girls' argument. Crabbe and Goyle took several seconds to comprehend what was happening, but followed suit when they did.

"I did not! The root simply," Pansy paused and shrugged in mock innocence, "_slipped_."

Leda was obviously angry and held her knife threateningly towards the other girl. "Directly into _my_ cauldron? I don't think so. Don't let it happen again."

"Or what?" Pansy stepped towards her dorm mate confrontationally.

"Or I'll make it very clear why you shouldn't stand between me and my scores just because you're a jealous twit."

Despite their keeping their voices down, the entire classroom had, by this time, become aware of the tension between the two which promised to break out into an all in all cat fight. Everyone, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike, had paused in their work to watch which was why no one noticed Snape's approach and impending interruption.

"What is going on here?" He demanded in a harsh voice verbally slapping every to attention with his commanding voice. He looked from Leda holding her knife ready to stab Pansy to Pansy reaching for her wand but not drawn it yet. "Why are you not working?"

"Pansy ruined my potion by putting in too much root," Leda explained relaxing her pose first.

"It was an accident," the other defended looking at their professor slowly.

Snape examined Leda's potion using his wand to stir the too purple liquid simmering over a light fire. He then looked into Pansy's still clear potion sitting cold on the table.

"As Miss Parkinson can't be more careful," he vanished her potion with a wave of his wand, "and Miss Vieson can't be more cautious," he vanished hers away as well, "you will both fail today's assignment."

Draco noticed Leda's knuckles turning white as she gripped her knife tightly were she had placed it on the table without releasing it. He wasn't sure the girl would attack Pansy despite their Head of House standing as a witness to her violence.

"You will both also write an essay detailing the special uses and challenges of making the potion due next week." Pansy's face turned white. "No minimum requirements. I want a _through _discussion of the topic."

Pansy winced at their professor's punishment. No requirements meant that no matter how long you made the essay you would still fail. Snape was an exacting professor, and, no matter how through you believed you were, it was never enough for him.

Leda did not betray her distress beyond the grip on her knife which she held for a long time after Snape had moved away from the girls' table to terrorize the other students preferably Gryffindors who sniggered at the punishment given to his own house. Pansy turned her attention promptly to cleaning her utensils and portion of the desk. There was nothing else to do but leave after being failed for the day as quickly as possible. Draco wondered for a moment if Leda would stab her neighbor in the back with the knife out of anger yet. Instead, she turned to her own utensils and began cleaning.

Pansy left first deliberately walking quickly, a smart move Draco believed. If Leda had the chance to attack her dorm mate without a teacher present, Draco couldn't be sure she wouldn't take it. There was no question who would have ended up more battered by the end of a wand between the two of them. Lead _was_ a brilliant witch. Leda left several minutes later at a leisurely pace, a choice to keep her from attacking the other girl.

As Draco finished his own potion, he couldn't help but feel pleased with himself causing a fight between the two. Leda hadn't really defended her claim to him with Pansy. She'd only defended her ruin potion and scores, but Draco was certain that would change soon. Leda would be as lovesick as Pansy in no time if he had anything to do with it.

With these thoughts in mind, Draco understandably believed Leda's stance just outside the classroom was favorable towards that end. She was obviously waiting for him leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and one foot pressed to the wall behind her. She pushed away from the stone wall of the dungeons and approached him exaggerating the sway of her hips. She'd given in sooner than he'd planned, but the timing made little difference to him and only served to puff up his ego further.

"Like what you see now?" She asked provocatively stepping up to him only inches away.

Draco had admired the show and hadn't hidden his appreciation. He heard Goyle and Crabbe giggling behind him, but he pushed their immaturity from his mind. "Perhaps."

"Good," she cooed seductively lowering her voice so only he could hear her. "The next time you use me to get your girlfriend," she knew very well that he refused to call Pansy his girlfriend despite her belief they were a couple, "jealous I'll make sure that you can't ever enjoy what I or any other girl can offer for the rest of your life." She motioned downward with her eyes, and Draco followed the direction of her gaze..

In the small gap between their bodies, Draco could see Leda's wand positioned threateningly at his crotch. When had she drawn her wand? He understood her intent and nodded smoothly hiding the panic at her threatening his manhood.

"I don't know what your game is, Malfoy, but leave me out of it. I'm not interested in dealing with _your_ problem's jealousy."

She dropped her wand, gave him a defiant look, and turned on her heel quickly before walking away without another look or consideration.

Intrigued wasn't a strong enough word to describe the curiosity and desire to know this woman better that ignited inside of Draco like an explosion in Charms. He recognized that here was a woman who was stronger than anyone else he'd known, a possible equal to be unmatched by anyone else attending Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Draco returned to the Slytherin common room after his confrontation with Leda disturbed but not shaken. Crabbe and Goyle had not heard Leda's threat to Draco's person and believed that she and Draco had shared a passionate if not romantic interlude. This was a mistaken belief Draco allowed them to have.

Pansy was waiting for him when he appeared.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pansy asked hands on hips.

Draco inwardly groaned, but kept all emotion from his face. "Don't be ridiculous, Pansy," he said in a scathing voice as he tried to push past her.

"Oh, so now I'm ridiculous," she retorted stepping in Draco's way to stop him. "What the hell do you think you're doing with that…that…bitch!"

Draco sighed and dropped his bag into a black leather chair. Crabbe and Goyle took seats on the couch for the best view of the impending argument.

"Yes, Pansy, you're being ridiculous," Draco explained in an unnaturally clam and cold voice. "What difference does it make what I'm doing with Leda? It has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me!" Pansy shrieked gaining the rest of the common room occupants' attentions. There had been a few watching with interest when Draco entered, but now every pair of Slytherin eyes were watching it's house's highest profile couple fight it out. "I'm your girlfriend, Dracie! If you think I'm just going to lay down and accept it while you go off with another girl, you've got another thing coming!"

Draco rolled his eyes at the unnecessary drama Pansy was creating for herself. She acted as though they were married. She had to known that a Malfoy was better than a Parkinson any day which meant their relationship was going nowhere. She didn't really expect the two of them getting married one day. It was very amusing.

Before Draco knew what was coming, a stinging pain on his left cheek forced his head to whip around. He touched the reddening flesh gingerly as he turned to find Pansy standing with a purple face and raised hand. "This is not funny, Draco Malfoy! Don't you dare smirk at me while I'm dying inside! Have you ever once considered how your actions hurt me?"

Draco dropped his hand heavily, and everyone leaned back preparing for the whiplash that Draco's temper would create. It was true. The moment Pansy had slapped him something had gone off in his head, but rather than uncontrollable rage he felt a cool understanding fall over him.

He grabbed Pansy's wrist roughly and forced her backwards until she fell back into a seat. Draco saw the fear in her eyes, and in their reflection he could see his enraged self staring back at him.

"Listen to me carefully," Draco ordered talking calmly into her face loud enough that everyone could hear. "I don't give a damn about you, Pansy. I never have, and I never will." Tears started to form in her eyes at his harsh honesty. "I was only using you, but now you're usefulness had outlived my interest."

"Dracie, don't say that!" She whimpered as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, alright. I'm sorry for hitting you, but I just love you so much. We can work this out!"

Pansy tried to caress his face with her still restrained hand, but Draco tightened his grip harshly and kept it from reaching its goal.

"No," he said in a cool tone. "We are done, Pansy! I've never considered you my girlfriend. You were only someone I could go to when I need a certain itch scratched." Draco heard some of the boys chuckle at that comment. "You've been good for nothing even that. So leave me alone!"

Draco shook her wrist to drive home the point before releasing it, grabbing his bag, and turning for the door to the common room. He saw Crabbe and Goyle rise to follow him, but he held them off with a motion of his hand. He needed to cool off before he was around people, but at least things were unequivocally at an end with Pansy.

This all occurred on a Monday. The next Saturday was declared a Hogsmead weekend. Somewhere between Leda's threat and the end of his "break up" with Pansy, Draco had decided that he would be taking Leda on a date that day.

This decision was the reason Draco on Wednesday night approached Leda's table in the library. He'd come alone having dismissed Crabbe and Goyle for the evening to terrorize young Gryffindors on their own. He'd pretended to have empowered them to do so without his guidance to keep them from witnessing his interview with their class mate, for, although he didn't really believe she would turn his offer down, he couldn't be certain.

She'd chosen a place in the back of the library where she would not be disturbed frequently by students pulling books, holding whispered conversations, or otherwise meandering and distracting others. She monopolized a whole table to herself, and her books covered almost the entire surface subtly warding off anyone's attempts to join her.

Draco ignored the hint and stood behind the chair across from her while asking, "Might I join you?"

Leda looked up, betrayed her annoyance on her face for a moment, and then returned to the parchment in front of her. Draco took her silence as permission and sat down quickly. Leda ignored him, but he was happy to sit and watch her. He found that recently studying Leda Vieson was becoming his favorite pastime.

Draco had noticed that Leda usually wore her hair up during the week. She would wear it in a ponytail high atop her head as well as low towards her neck, she wore it in a bun with loose bits flying away from her head, and sometimes she would wear that beautiful golden blonde hair in braids. Draco hated those days. It felt as though her hair was being choked and himself right along with it. Tonight it was in a high bun, and her hair was particularly wispy and free.

"What do you want?" She asked abruptly looking up holding her quill above the parchment ready to continue when Draco was gone, something she seem to anticipate very quickly.

Draco didn't hide the disappointment he felt at not being allowed to openly observe her for longer. He remembered his reason for coming, though, and pressed on.

"Saturday we are allowed to visit Hogsmead," he observed.

"Yes?" One syllable betrayed her irritation and sneaking suspicion that Draco was a simpleton.

"I am taking you as my date," Draco asserted rather than form it into a question.

"You believe so, do you?" She returned laying down her quill and leaning back into her chair slowly.

"I want to take you out on a date."

"That much I gathered on my own, but the question is would I care to join you."

"Why wouldn't you?" Draco asked confidently leaning forward resting his elbows on the table.

"Why wouldn't I?" Leda repeated disgustedly. "Why _would_ I? You treat girls like objects rather than people, you act as though you own this school, and after seeing the way you treated Pansy, though I'm not a fan of hers, why would I want anything to do with you?"

"Pansy wasn't my fault," Draco retorted defensively. "She's the one who threw herself at me."

"And that makes it all better does it? You took advantage of what she offered knowing full well that you'd never return anything to her."

It was a commonly known fact among the Slytherin girls that Pansy had made Draco a man the night of the Yule Ball last year. The stupid girl had flown fly on cloud nine for weeks afterwards, but then rumors started to circulate that he was also dallying with some older girls in their house on the side as well then she returned to earth to whine and complain.

"Could I call myself a Slytherin if I didn't?" Draco replied with a smirk.

Leda lifted her eyes to Draco who returned her gaze with intensity. They stared at one another for a moment. The air was charged with the forcefulness of their wills clashing, fighting for dominance.

"No," she replied finally, "I suppose you couldn't."

Draco heard disappointment in her voice, and he felt a little ashamed but for what he didn't know. He felt an uncomfortable mass fall heavily into his stomach making him feel sick and causing pain at the same time. He didn't care for the feeling.

"Come with me to Hogsmead." It was an order rather than a question.

"I'm not interested, Malfoy." She leaned forward and picked up her quill obviously signaling that their interview was over.

Draco sighed quietly but kept his eyes locked on Leda's. "I really want you to come with me."

"Well, that's too bad, Malfoy. You'll have to taste the bitterness of disappoinment."

"I always get what I want," Draco said in equals parts of astonishment and promise.

" Not tonight," Leda stated firmly and began gathering her things together and stuffing them into her bag. "I'm not for sale. Your family's money, prominence, or power can't buy me." Leda stood and shouldered her bag. "Now run along. I'm sure there are plenty of girls who'd come when you call, but I'm not one of them."

Draco sat in stunned silence as Leda walked off with her head held high. He couldn't believe someone had actually told him no. He'd said yes, and she'd said no. It was unthinkable!

Far from being dissuaded by her forthright denial, Draco made a commitment to have Leda Vieson wrapped as tightly around his finger as Pansy had been. He made this vow to himself as he looked up from the wooden table to have his eyes alight on Tracey Davis.

Draco smiled to himself as he stood and walked over to the girl who was scanning the bookcases. He pocketed his hands and affected the easy, confident gait that was his signature along with a pleasant smile.

"Hello, Tracey," Draco said from behind her in a silky smooth voice.

Tracey had been reaching for a book on a high shelf. She faltered when Draco spoke and turned to face him obviously unsettled by his overwhelming charm.

"Oh, hello, Draco," she replied nervously as he moved to her side and grabbed the book she'd been trying to retrieve. "Thanks," she said as he handed her the book. "I heard about you and Pansy. Sorry."

She was lying, and Draco knew it. No girl had been sorry to hear that Draco Malfoy was fair game again, but every guy was sorry that Pansy was out looking for a guy again.

"Look," Draco said getting down to business, "I was wondering what you could tell me about Leda."

"Leda?" Tracey questioned obviously disappointed. "What do you want to know?"

"Does she like anyone?" He asked affecting disinterestedness.

Tracey looked down at the floor to think for a moment and then shook her head. "I don't think so, but she never talks about boys. She's not the gossipy sort if you know what I mean."

Draco was encouraged by this and pressed on. "What does she like?"

"How do you mean?"

"What's her type?" Draco clarified.

"I honestly don't know, Draco. Leda's never really said much about boys before. She went home for Christmas last year rather than going to the Yule Ball, so I can't really say she has a 'type.'"

"She does like boys, right?" Draco asked beginning to feel suspicious.

"Oh, yeah," Tracey returned quickly. "She did say once that she would never date someone she couldn't be friends with."

Draco nodded and took a moment to absorb that information and file it away for later. He might be able to use that.

"Anything else?" He asked flashing Tracey a bright smile as reward for her help.

The poor girl seemed dazzled by his handsomeness, and Draco felt certain he could use her in a sticky spot again sometime. Perhaps next time could be more…pleasurable for them both.

"She thinks there aren't any guys at school here who are mature enough for her to date. I think that's why she doesn't really talk about guys with the rest of us."

Draco could definitely work with that. Leda had a weakness he was all too familiar with manipulating—pride. Draco's father was probably the most prideful person he knew, and he had learned out of necessity long ago to bend that weakness towards his own goals.

Draco gave Tracey a genuine smile. The girl's knees felt weak, and without trying Draco had seduced her. He grinned and suggested they go back to the stacks and continue their conversation in private. She didn't argue, and Draco shrugged to himself. Why shouldn't he have a little fun if the girl he wanted wasn't willing just yet?


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Draco kept his eyes open for Leda all morning. He, Crabbe, and Goyle had made their usual circuit around Hogsmead. After having permission to visit the village for the past two years, the boys had seen all the sights and experienced all there was to experience in the completely magical town. The result was that the three boys were able to accomplish their goals in less than three hours. Crabbe and Goyle were able to load up on sweets until their next visit which meant the two boys each carried large paper bags magically enlarged to hold everything they wanted and Draco was able to replenish his own supplies—all carefully stowed away in the pockets of his jacket.

As they moved through the town, Draco kept his eyes peeled for the slender blonde, but he hadn't even spotted a look alike all morning. At last, though, he spotted her entering the Three Broomsticks as they left Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Crabbe and Goyle had begun eating some of their candy while Draco explored the shop looking for something expensive enough for him to buy. From the looks of their persistence, Draco guessed they would have to special order candy to hold them over until Christmas the next day. They'd gone through this routine a few times before. Crabbe and Goyle would gorge themselves on their purchases once they got started until there was nothing left. Then they would order supplies by owl, but in the interim before their replenish stashes arrived they would feed off of first and second years. Knowing full well that the two boys wouldn't be interested in eating real food with so much candy within their grasps, Draco dismissed them to the castle or to wherever they cared to go while he turned his feet to the inn where Leda was waiting.

Draco stood just inside the door out of the way of entering and exiting patrons for a moment. He studied the girl sitting at the bar long legs crossed pouring over a piece of parchment that had been folded, a letter Draco imagined. She wore her hair down today. It seemed to be a habit of the girl's to literally let down her hair on weekends, a habit that Draco's on mother ascribed to. That was something he'd noticed before he'd really taken an interest in her. She wore a long, carefully tailored, lavender coat which fell just above her bare calves. You couldn't mistake that her coat had been tailored because even while sitting it showcased her tiny waist and flaring hips well. She wore a dress beneath it despite the chill in the air. Most pure-blood witches were raised to abhor the thought of wearing trousers—it was a very muggle-thing to do.

All around her the tables of the inn were full with Hogwarts' students bedecked in their school cloaks and muggle-wear and older witches and wizards who were passing through the town. Draco scanned the faces of the crowd making sure none of the boys were studying Leda with interest. She was his whether she liked it or not. Throughout the week he had staked his claim on her subtly to the other boys, but one could never be too possessive of anything they wanted in his view. He also wanted to make sure that she wasn't meeting someone there. He wanted her attention all for himself.

Madame Rosemarta placing a butterbeer in front of Leda decided Draco. From his observations, Draco had deducted that she had been raised to follow the same upper class decorums that he'd been taught from birth. The dictates she carefully followed with regards to her hair and dress, her expensive wardrobe, her manners at meals, and manners were just a few that led Draco to this conclusion. If Leda had been waiting for someone to join her, she wouldn't have ordered until they arrived. It was only the polite thing to do. Draco affected his usual dashing smirk, the one that had sent many girls into swoons, and made his way through the tables to Leda.

As Draco passed, students looked up at him…some with trepidation others with contempt. Draco had mastered the art of facial expression years ago and knew the difference a glint of the eye could make. He glared coldly as those who challenged him without words, and the other students backed down quickly. It was an old game he'd been playing since he arrived at Hogwarts. It was one of hundreds of things he toyed with to keep him busy and pass the time. He even spared a couple of Hufflepuffs a look of disgust before he reached the bar for wearing their school cloaks so proudly. Obviously, they were muggle-born and contained too much house pride. Draco wouldn't be caught dead in his school clothes unless he had to wear them. Nothing compared to the fine silks and expensive cottons which filled his closet at home. He suspected that Leda felt the same way as he'd never noticed her wearing her school robes unless called for either.

Draco approached the bar to her right and placed his palms down confidently on the polished wooden bar as he ordered a butterbeer without appearing to look at Leda who sat so close. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her look at him with a curious expression which morphed into annoyance as he received and paid for his drink.

Draco opened the bottle and drank from it deeply before pretending to notice Leda there for the first time. "Ah, Vieson, hello," he greeted casually.

"Malfoy," she replied tersely nodding her head in barely polite greeting. "What do you want?"

"Not very friendly," Draco tsked while taking a seat next to her at the bar.

"Don't sit there. I'm expecting someone."

"Not very honest, either."

Leda gave Draco a hard look which would have intimidated a less determined man, but Draco pressed on, though, more and more fascinated with her cold beauty.

"Please, go away."

"And we're back to being unfriendly."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She repeated after reigning in her temper by pressing her lips together until they were white.

"Do I have to have ulterior motives for joining a classmate for a drink?"

"Yes, _you_ do when you aren't being followed by your shadows. Where are dumb and dumber today, by the way?"

"I sent them off to indulge in their morning purchases," Draco replied waving his hand dismissively showing his opinion of both Leda's question and his friends.

"You think it wise to leave them alone with all that candy? They may not be alive when you get back to the castle. Then where would you be? You'd have to train two more brainless twits to take their place. That would certainly be a shame." Draco admired her deft control of sarcasm. It was almost as good as his own. Almost. "Why don't you run off and save them from themselves before it's too late?" Leda flicked her hands in a shooing motion to encourage Draco's retreat and returned to her drink ignoring the boy as though he'd already gone.

"The larger crime would be to deprive you of my delightful company."

"Delightful isn't the word I would have chosen," she muttered under her breath taking a long sip of her drink.

"Charming? Handsome, perhaps?" He tried with a grin.

"Repugnant or, more importantly, unwanted."

Draco finished his drink and tutted. "There you go being unfriendly again."

"Lucky for me that we aren't friends," Leda folded up her letter and put it away as she turned in her barstool to stand.

Draco seeing that she was trying to escape grabbed her arm and held it gently but firmly showing that he wasn't ready for her to go. He was, in fact, enjoying the repartee they had despite its being so hostile. He was already imagining more hospitable conversations, for he didn't doubt that in time they would come to pass.

"Don't go." He said in his usual commanding voice, but seeing that she was offended by it he quickly added in a gentler voice, "Please."

She shook his hand from her arm which he released when he saw that she wasn't going to run just yet. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Call me Draco, please."

He noticed that adding that simple word seemed to soften Leda. He found this interesting and noted it for future use.

"I only call my friends by their given name, Malfoy."

"Exactly!" He decided quickly that a different course of action would be required. "Let's be friends."

Leda gave him a disbelieving look which made him pause. Maybe he was coming on too strong for that course. He tried to realign his face into a more benevolent look, one of honesty and sincerity.

She turned and slid from her bar stool before Draco could stop her, and she regarded the boy with a defensive voice. "Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I want no part of it. Draco Malfoy only hangs around girls for one reason—to get them into bed. I will not have my good reputation sullied by your promiscuity."

Before he could hide the true hurt he felt at her stinging words, Draco's face showed outward pain. He quickly pulled his mask down over the genuine emotions and hoped Leda hadn't seen. He couldn't read her expressions as quickly as he would have liked, and he couldn't be sure that her expression wasn't pity but neither could he be sure it wasn't disgust either.

"I see," he said in a brisk voice as he wished he was allowed to order something stronger at the bar than butterbeer. "I will leave you to your business in that case."

He turned his back toward Leda and continued to drink from his quickly emptying bottle. He saw Leda standing, hesitating, in his peripheral vision. It was only for a moment before the clicking of her heels on the wooden floors signaled her departure and retreat from him. He waited to order another drink, but Madame Rosemarta was busy with some other students, the Hufflepuffs he'd glared at earlier.

Draco, despite what people may think, could really feel shame and regret. There were moments, few as they were, when he wished that his life had been different, that he was different. There were times when Draco could see that his choices with regard to his reputation could become a challenge he could not overcome. In those instances, he could feel and see the emptiness that was his life and allow it to swallow him whole, but he chose not to most of the time. He'd learned from the best, his father, to tuck everything—every emotion, every thought, every indiscretion—away into tiny boxes in his soul and keep them there rather than allow them to consume him.

He was completely desperate for a moment at the bar, but he quickly tucked that desperation away. The ability to ignore his feelings was how he heard Leda's footsteps slow and then stop. He smiled to himself when he heard those same footsteps pick up again in a more determined fashion directed towards him.

"Do you really want to be friends?" She asked from behind him.

Draco hid his smile and turned slowly. "Yes."

"Only friends?" She placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow severely.

"Of course."

She must have seen his weakness and found this attractive. Interesting. He added this information to his growing list affecting a sad expression. She was playing into his hand exactly as he wished.

So he thought until she asked, "Do you dance?"

Draco couldn't hide his surprise at her question. "Excuse me?"

"Can you waltz? I wasn't here for the Yule Ball, so I really have no idea."

Draco was a little put off by the question, but he was relieved that he could give her a favorable answer. One of the many benefits of being a Malfoy was being well connected with officials at the Ministry of Magic. Draco always knew what was happening at Hogwarts before the other students compliments of his father. When the Ministry decided to host the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts last year, Draco's mother had insisted that Draco learn to dance properly in anticipation of the Yule Ball. Lucious had agreed not wanting his son to give the family a bad name. All summer Draco had been given lessons, and his mother had spent a good portion of her free time to allow her son to practice. Yes, he could dance.

"Come with me, then," Leda replied after receiving Draco's answer.

She turned on her heel and marched out of the inn without a glance behind her to see if Draco would follow. He finished off his drink and placed it loudly back down to the bar before following the odd girl. He had no idea what was in store for him, and rather than making him feel helpless and out of control, emotions he loathed with every black piece of his being, it exhilarated him.

Leda's lavender coat stuck out among all the black that the students wore. Draco spotted her walking at a purposeful pace down the street further into town. Draco decided to put his usual haughty demeanor on hold and jogged down the street after the girl in enthusiastic excitement. He decided she preferred the earnest dupe to the confident bloke persona. He added this to the list when she looked at him with approval as he joined her.

"Where are we going?" He asked falling into step beside her.

"Have you ever heard of a Sang d'Immaculé Ball?"

Draco had heard those words before. Where? He thought hard for a moment and remembered.

"Sure. It's a Pure-Blood Ball," he replied easily as though he hadn't had to wrack his brain for the answer. "Pure-blood families used to host them to present their children to the other pure-blood families."

Leda pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly. "Other families might have stopped having them, but not mine. My grandmother wrote to me this morning to inform me that the invitations for _my_ Sang d'Immaculé had been sent. Every noble family in Europe has been invited. I'm sure you'll be hearing from home about it soon enough."

They stopped outside of a shop, but Draco had been too engrossed in observing Leda as she spoke to notice where they were. When she paused, he looked up and saw the sign for Gladrags Wizardwear, the only clothing store in Hogsmead.

"I have to get a dress," she explained recalling his attention, "one that I can dance in."

Draco looked into the shop's windows and scanned over the pieces on display that while asking Leda, "And why am I here?"

"How am I to know if I can dance in a dress without trying it out?" She asked innocently and then smiled wickedly. "One can't dance alone."

Draco felt his heart drop into his stomach as he realized he's been tricked. There was nothing for it now, however, but to bear it as best as he could. He steeled himself for what lay ahead.


	4. Chapter 4

Four

Three hours. He'd been trapped in that store with Leda for three hours. He didn't see how it was possible that in that time the girl hadn't tried on every sample dress the shop carried although the shopkeeper assured him that she hadn't. In all that time his mind had begun to become numb to the subtle differences of the dresses—the waistline, the fullness of the skirt, the cut of the neckline. It had all seemed the same to him.

Of course, it hadn't been his job to offer advice on how the dress looked. Draco's job had been to sit outside the dressing room while Leda and an attendant got the dress on, not look horrified when she appeared, and whisk her around the shop to try out the suitability of the dress for dancing. After his dance, Leda would stand in front of the mirror for a long moment assessing the virtues and vices of each dress before disappearing back to the dressing rooms to begin the whole process again.

Draco kept his mouth shut on how she looked in the dresses unless he was asked. It was clear early on in the process that Leda didn't need kindly meant comments about how she looked. The attendant was just gushing over Leda while she stood looking at herself in the mirror. Draco had retaken his seat having performed his duty of sweeping the girl around the room and watched with amused interest as the attendant fluffed the gauzy fabric of the skirt and expounded on Leda's beauty in the dress.

"You look so grown up and…and _regal_ in this one, miss!" The attendant said squatting to straighten the skirt after Leda had turned from side to side several times to see the back of the dress.

Leda stopped her assessment suddenly dropping her arms to the side heavily hitting the woman in the face not quite by accident. "That's enough," she said sharply as the woman fell back more stunned by the blow than hurt. "I won't be getting this one."

Leda picked up her skirts with both hands and glided majestically back into the dressing room. The attendant was left scurrying to join the girl and help her out of the dress. Draco chuckled silently. It was gratifying to see Leda show a little more of her Slytherin side and superiority. If she hadn't done something, he certainly would have to the simpering attendant.

In truth, Draco didn't know which dress she had decided to have made. Leda wasn't like most girls who'd he accompanied on a shopping trip. She was utterly silent, expecting this incident, beyond asking pertinent questions of the attendant about the dresses and the occasional irritated comments when the dress would cause her to stumble in Draco's arms while they swirled around the shop. On one of those occasions, she'd fallen into Draco's chest, and he'd gotten the great satisfaction of holding her weight in his arms before she regained her footing. She'd pushed away from him angry at the dress muttering curses back to the dressing room. It had been another case of her Slytherin side showing leaving Draco to smile in solitude awaiting the next selection.

Despite its being the longest three hours of his life, Draco couldn't remember more pleasurable ones up to that point. He'd rather enjoyed it. Leda was a fair dancer. He could tell that she'd not been taught, but she was a natural follower in this one thing at least. It was pleasant to hold her in his arms despite the knowledge that for now he wouldn't get to explore her thoroughly as he had with every other girl he'd held in a similar manner. She'd been genuinely funny to hear as she cursed the way a dress cut her or its difficultly in putting on, and there had been a few times she'd come out…she'd been breath taking even wearing a sample dress. He hoped she'd chosen one of the ones he'd liked. He'd only risked giving her his opinion on the ones that took his breath away unbidden. Yes, it had been a lovely afternoon.

Draco thought of all of this when he entered the Great Hall the following Monday morning. It was early. Very few students were sitting at the plate lined tables filled with eggs, oatmeal, and toast. Leda, however, sat towards the end of the Slytherin table hunched over a book, sitting beside Tracey, while feeding herself small bite of eggs with every turn of the page. Tracey was reading over some notes of her own, and Draco assumed they were preparing for the test scheduled in Ancient Runes that morning.

"Good morning, ladies," he said smoothly taking a seat across from Leda. "Studying at the last minute for a test is never a good sign," he said smiling at Tracey, the only one to look up from her work.

She smiled back with a saucy quirk of her eyebrow and answered, "I know. Professor Babbling is going to fail me for sure. I don't know why Leda's studying; she has the highest marks after Granger in that class."

"That, Tracey, is exactly the reason why I am studying," Leda said without looking up and turning the page of her textbook. "Second best is not good enough."

Tracey gave Draco a look which said, "I'd be happy with second best. Why can't she?" Draco nodded his head in understanding and flashed her a brilliant smile, although, he understood better than most the drive to be the best. He knew what it was like to live in the shadow of someone else who didn't deserve to stand there. He was beginning to expect things of Leda, and in this as all things so far she met or exceeded his expectations. Of course, Tracey would be content with second best. It was a fair sight better than where she stood at present. The poor girl had her uses, certainly, but she never could hope to reach the same level as Leda. Draco was only beginning to understand that level in a female himself.

Draco piled food on his plate as Tracey made dreamy eyes at him. She didn't return to her studying, but Leda hadn't acknowledged his presence yet. It was getting on his nerves that she so blatantly disregarded his favor to her by ignoring him all the time. He tried to make conversation with her a few times, but only Tracey would answer too eager to please him.

Finally, Draco bent forward and forced his face in Leda's view by laying his head nearly on the table at an awkward angle. Leda kept her eyes on her book determined to study her text thoroughly before class. Draco called her name several times without success until he slammed his hand down on the table causing everyone in the Great Hall to jump including Leda.

"What?" She demanded in an irritated tone.

"I've been trying to speak with you for ten minutes. The least you could do is look at me," he said straightening up and looking fiercely at the girl across from him.

"I'm studying, Malfoy. Nothing stands between me and my scores. Nothing."

"I asked you to call me, Draco," he reminded in a friendly voice thinly veiling his anger.

Leda closed her book with a loud _thwack!_ and stood from her seat fluidly. "And _I_ told you where I stand on first names. Good day," she said in a tightly control voice.

She turned and walked towards the large doors of the hall while Tracey called back that she'd barely eaten anything. Draco clinched his fists and counted to twenty before standing and walking after Leda. Tracey called after him, as well, but he didn't hear what she said.

Leda's long legs as shapely and lovely as they are were no match for Draco's. He caught up to her at the top of the staircase, grabbed her upper arm, and spun her around before she could protest.

"What is your problem, Vieson?" He demanded.

"You! You are my problem! Now leave me alone. I need to study," she replied in a dignified manner.

"I thought we were going to be friends."

"Did I say that? Did I ever say, 'Yes, Draco Malfoy, I will be your friend'?"

Draco was silent as he thought out his words carefully. "It was implied. I agreed to help you at Hogsmead, and you were going to be my friend."

Draco shook her roughly by the grip he had on her arm. When he was done, she smiled malignantly and pried his hand off her finger by finger.

"I used you, Malfoy. I took a page from the old book, and used you for my own purposes like you use girls. I never meant to be your friend, and I'm certainly not going to be now. Nothing you have to offer could interest me."

Draco smiled wickedly stepping so close to Leda that the barest of shifts between them had their robes brushing against one another. Leda was too proud to back down, and Draco was not above using blackmail if it suited him.

"That's not what you said Saturday," he breathed over her. Her face remained defiant and black, but he could see the fear in her lilac eyes. "What would happen to that carefully protected reputation if word got out that you spent the entire afternoon alone with me? What would people think if they heard you found certain attributes of mine_ very _interesting then? Hmm?"

Leda opened her mouth to say something, stopped and then closed her mouth into a firm line while shooting daggers at Draco with her eyes. If looks could kill, he thought. "And just how would people hear about this?"

"It might just…slip by accident, of course, during a conversation."

"That would be very stupid of you, Malfoy. Something like that might just get you killed or worse."

She was quick. She was good, but Draco was better. She might have gotten the slip on him the last time, but when she looked down it was to find that Draco's wand was already drawn and pointed at her abdomen. Her wand was pointed again at his crotch, but they were truly at an impasse now.

She looked up wide-eyed in surprise. He smirked at her expression and triumphed. She hadn't expected that he would such a fast learner. That was his Ace in the hole. No one ever expected so much from him as he expected from himself. His father had taught him that much in life.

"Fine," she said returning her wand to its place inside her robes, and Draco followed suit. "I would just like to remind you that my grandmother is the richest witch in the country, Draco Malfoy. Cross me, and she'll hear about it.

"As you may know, she sits on several committees with your father. Your indiscretions widely celebrated here may not be taken so well at home if it were to just…slip by accident, of course, during a conversation."

Draco paled considerably at the thought. His father had been very clear that if Draco were to dabble in the fine selections at school he had better keep it under wraps. Lucious made it clear that if Narcissa heard anything about it or if he embarrassed his family with his conquests that a stringent punishment would be quick and very painful.

Leda stepped back with a satisfied smirk on her face as Draco sucked in a shaky breath. "What do you want?"

"Want?" She asked in an innocent voice. Then her features fell into restrained anger and her voice deepened. "I want you to leave me alone."

Draco shook his head as she turned and walked away. "No, that's the last thing you want, Leda Vieson." She paused four steps away but didn't turn around. "I've watched you. You've got no one in the whole world. You're completely alone, and I've seen the isolation and sadness on your face when you thought no one was looking. You want to be alone no more than anyone else." She turned her head slightly as though to look over her shoulder, but she stopped herself. "You've isolated yourself from everyone even Tracey—you're not really friends with her—and you hate it. You want a friend, a real one, and I'm trying to offer you one."

Leda waited only a moment after Draco had finished before leaving. She didn't look back, and she didn't say a word.

The next day Draco took an opportunity before dinner to sit and think by the lake. Other blokes, those who weren't blessed to be Malfoys, would have given up their schemes on Leda at this point. She'd carefully ignored him since their confrontation and hadn't shown a single second of weakening determination. Other blokes were not Draco Malfoy, however, although discouraged, he was not devoid of hope as of yet.

He'd been so sure of his estimation of her. He'd counted on his little speech to poke holes in that icy demeanor. That was what puzzled him. Where had he gone wrong in his observations? It had seemed so obvious. She kept people just far enough away that they couldn't really know her but close enough for Leda to appear normal. Had he misread the looks, the sad expressions, the longing in her big, violet eyes? He shook his head and sighed as Crabbe and Goyle laughed loudly at some sordid remark between them. No, he'd known he was right. It just hadn't worked. Why?

Crabbe and Goyle didn't understand the need to sit still and silent to think. Draco assumed that was because the two great lugs shared a brain the size of a walnut and had no use for thinking. They'd tried sitting beside him, but after only a few moments of silence one or both would start talking. Draco lashed out at them to shut up, but it wasn't long before Goyle started fidgeting. Draco had ordered them to go do something so he could think. They chose to throw stones into the black surface of the lake and see who could make the largest splash. It always surprised Draco how little it really took to amuse those two. He half-watched their antics as he continued to consider his problem.

There were many scenarios that played out in his head. Most of them included him being devastatingly patient and charming. Charming he could manage, but patience was not one of his virtues. The desired goal was still the same, though. He wanted Leda. He wanted her to fall head over heels in love with him so much so that she worshiped at the altar of Draco. He wanted her begging for his attention and fighting off other girls jealously. In short, he wanted to possess her—body, mind, and spirit. Then he would break her heart.

Of all the plans he thought through, not one provided for what did happen. A shadow fell over him where he sat on a fallen tree stump leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. The late afternoon sunlight added a great deal of unnatural length to the shadow, and Draco found Leda standing a fair distance away. She looked at him calmly with her delicate hands clasped before her. There was something very different about her. She managed to make their cursed school robes look elegant where none of the other girls were able. She wore them rather than letting them wear her.

Draco raised an eyebrow in question, and Leda stepped forward. "I wondered if I might speak with you."

Draco opened his clasped hands and indicated that she could proceed with a curious expression on his face. Now, what did she want with him? This was interesting. He would never have guessed that she would come to him like this.

"Will you walk with me?" She asked pausing only a moment before walking away from the castle along the lake's shore.

That was irritating. She assumed he would follow again like a lovesick puppy. Everything inside him was revolted at her assumption, but his curiosity was peaked. He stood begrudgingly and told Crabbe and Goyle to stay there. He followed after Leda cursing himself.

"What do you want?" He asked sourly.

Leda was different from other girls. Others would have drawn back at Draco's anger. His temper was legendary in his house…one of the many reasons he was called their prince. Not Leda, though. She was unfazed by his apparent anger and annoyance. She was calm and peaceful walking beside him with her hands clasped. She was unlike other girls, too, in that she didn't feel the need to fidget nervously or fill silence with unneeded speech. She reminded him of a quiet, gentle brook peaceful and serene. It relaxed him against his will.

"I want you to know," she began after a long silence with only their footsteps filling the void between them, "that this changes nothing. I don't trust you further than I can throw you. You're up to something, and I want no part in it. I'm not interested in being sucked into the drama that seems to follow you, Draco Malfoy. Remember that."

"How could I forget? You keep reminding me if what a horrible person I am."

He tried to keep the bitterness he felt out of his voice, but Leda looked at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the ground before them saying quietly, "You reap what you sow."

"Sage wisdom," Draco replied with a snarl. "Say, you dispense advice often enough. Do you ever practice what you preach?"

"Point well taken," she nodded. "But we're not here to discuss that."

"Then, what are we to discuss?"

"You."

She said nothing more as they continued along. Draco was determined to remain quiet until she said whatever it was she'd come to say. The restraint made him jittery. That feeling was amplified by the exaggerated stillness walking beside him. He put his hands in his pockets needing some place to hide their nervous, excited movements.

"I've been thinking about our…conversation," Draco snorted and she looked up disapprovingly, "yesterday." Draco would hardly call it a conversation, but Leda's look expressed both that she understood his criticism and begged him to just go with it. He obeyed. "You don't have to admit or agree to anything, but I've thought about it ever since. I got the impression that the consequences of your family finding out about your…pursuits," she cut her eyes at him to cut off another snort, "would be greater than a simple punishment—reduced allowance, grounding, and such."

She paused to give him opportunity to comment. Draco clenched his jaws and said nothing.

"That's what I thought," she continued watching him carefully. "From your reaction then and now, I'd wager that it would be at best very bad and at worst _illegal._"

Draco looked at her surprised. Could she know? His heart raced inside his chest. If she knew, their entire family could be ruined. How could she have guessed? Had he given it away?

She judged his reaction and nodded. "Hmm-mmm. That's what I thought."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied in a falsely snide voice.

"Of course," she returned nodding once more. "I will not tell, Malfoy. I give you my word. I will also keep my mouth shut to my grandmother about your escapades."

Draco stopped as stunned as he was. She was offering to keep his secrets without any expected repayment. She knew or guessed that his father was not above administering the Cruciatus Curse on his son when he disobeyed. That reality made him pale yesterday as well as today. Draco had been raised to believe that beatings and illegal curses were the only appropriate way to punish a child. The Malfoy name had never been tarnished in its history, and Lucious made sure that his son adhered to strict standards to maintain the family name. If Draco stepped a toe out of line, he was given a sound whipping with his father's notorious cane. If he dared do worse then, the excruciating pain of the Cruciatus Curse was his reward.

Not only was Leda telling him that she would keep this secret, she was also promising to keep his antics a secret as well. She was willing to give up a bargaining chip to protect him from his father. That was very un-Slytherin-like. How strange?

"What do you want?" He asked suspiciously. No Slytherin would give up an advantage without demanding something in return.

Leda turned to face him and looked him carefully in the eyes. "Nothing. I only wanted you to know that you didn't have to worry about it coming out from me, but you should be careful, Malfoy. If you keep it up, it will come out from another quarter."

"You expect me to believe that you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything, but it is the truth. The unkindness of others has made you believe that kindness itself doesn't exist."

"Not from a Slytherin. Not from you," he remarked in a quiet voice. They were silent for several minutes as they continued their walk around the lake.

It was a beautiful autumn afternoon. The sun was beginning to sink, and there were birds flying south in preparation for winter. Draco noticed even the giant squid broke the surface of the deep loch to enjoying the remaining hours of sunlight. Its large tentacles flew above the surface of the water like banners in a gentle breeze. It was quaint and picturesque. Something inside of Draco told him he shouldn't enjoy it, but he did.

"Why?" He asked her at last.

It was Leda's turn to pause her step, but she turned to face the setting sun looking at the fiery orb over the black lake. "Because you were right about me. Because you were the first to notice."

"So you are in need of a friend?" He asked trying to hold back the excitement he felt. Here was progress.

Leda shook her head and looked at him over her shoulder. "No. And I would warn anyone who dared take that place, that it would be dangerous folly to continue."

She returned her gaze to the lake, and Draco stepped towards her slowly. "What if that person," he asked standing now behind her, "heard your warning and didn't care?"

"Then I would say that person was immensely stupid." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You've been warned."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: One of my dear and faithful reviewers asked a very pertinent question, I think. Why doesn't this story have more reviews??? This is a question I have asked myself on occasion, but I hate to be one of "those" authors who beg for review, but I would appreciate them. Let me know how I'm doing. What do you like? What do you hate? What can I do better? Hey...I'm even accepting ideas and suggestions on the future twists and turns of this plot (nothing's set in stone...yet). Just let me know, and I really, really appreciate those of you who've been troopers and reviewed faithfully. Thank you. You know who you are. Enjoy!**

Five

"Wake up, Malfoy! You're getting soft!" Montague shouted shaking Draco from his thoughts. "Get your head in the game! We've got Gryffindor asses to beat! Am I right?"

The rest of the Qudditich team shouted their agreement with their captain, and Draco added his cheer with the rest. He focused his attention as Montague went over their strategies for the upcoming game which mostly included a lot of dirty and less than reputable maneuvers focused on getting as many points as possible before the snitch was caught hopefully by Draco.

Montague's ideas weren't clever or even new, but they would be effective. Draco ignored the fact that building up so many points in the game protected them from loss whether Potter caught the snitch or not. He ignored the fact that pretty much everyone knew he wouldn't be the one to put his hand on the golden snitch first. Potter's reputation was spotless, but Draco was damned if he didn't plan on putting the smug bastard to shame.

The team gathered for their pre-game huddle in the locker room. Draco was the last to join the group and put in his hand. They all began chanting the familiar cheer before breaking out into the loudest screams they could muster. It was good to get the aggression pumping before they even stepped onto the pitch.

Draco tried to focus his attention to the here and now, but his thoughts continued to wander away. He wondered where Leda could be. She hadn't been down to breakfast when he'd come down, and she hadn't appeared by the time he had to leave.

This was unusual, because, for the past month since that walk around the lake, Draco and Leda had been joined almost at the hip. They had their meals together, they studied together, and they sat by each other during classes now. This had all been Draco's doing, of course. He'd been drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Leda had allowed it, however, begrudgingly at first, but allowed it nonetheless. This was the first breakfast he'd eaten without her in all that time, and he wondered bitterly what had happened to her.

Her absence thus far that morning made her appearance outside of the team's locker room even more surprising. "Good luck, guys! Teach those smarmy gits a lesson," she exclaimed as the team filed out.

Draco was the last to exit the locker room, and he didn't hide his shock to see Leda leaning against the wall across from the doorway in a relaxed unconcerned pose.

"You shouldn't be back here," he said in an annoyed voice allowing his irritation from breakfast to seep into his tone.

"Could I call myself a Slytherin if I paid attention to _all_ the rules?" She asked pushing herself away from the wall.

Draco sighed and turned to follow his team mates while shaking his head.

"Oh, come on, Draco don't be angry that I missed breakfast," she said quickly catching up to him.

"Who said anything about breakfast?" He asked defensively when she reached out to grab his arm and stop him.

"You're not as good at hiding things as you think," she said quietly so his team wouldn't hear. They all stood either pretending to not watch or blatantly watching each to their own personality.

It was an old argument between them now. Draco believed he was a master at hiding his feelings, and Leda was uncommonly good at discerning them. It was oddly liberating to be unable to hide your feelings from someone completely, to have someone who understood you better than you understood yourself.

"Where were you?" He asked putting his back to the team so they couldn't read his or her lips.

"I'm sorry, but I was running late this morning. I came to wish you luck since I didn't make it to breakfast."

Draco had studied and learned a great deal about Leda in their time as friends, and he'd filed away everything he thought would be useful in future. He hadn't learned yet the subtle art of observing in the _now_. If he were, he would have noticed that Leda's face was drawn and pale and that circles were beginning to form under her eyes. It was apparent to anyone looking carefully that something was bothering her, but Draco was busy with his own selfishness to see it just then.

"You weren't planning on skipping the game, were you?" He asked shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"No," she replied smiling gently and shaking her head. "Would I miss you beating Potter and making the poor boy cry in front of the school?"

Draco smiled feeling his confidence and focus on the game grow. Leda noticed it, as well.

"Good luck!" She called as Draco turned and joined the team.

He allowed himself a glance back at her before engrossing himself totally in the game. It was in that moment just before his brain switched from regular operation into Qudditich mode that he recognized his friend's distress. Her shoulders were hunched forward, and she looked almost ill. It was too late, though, for with her words of encouragement his brain had begun the conversion process, a process which would only finish with the ending whistle of the game.

"Don't let your problems with your girlfriend screw this up," Montague advised just before the stepped on the pitch.

"She's not my girlfriend," Draco returned, but the screaming in the stand prevented his protest from being heard.

Draco played a tough game as did all the team. It was fairly easy to score against the Gryffindor's pathetic keeper, Ron Weasley. Draco was quite satisfied that his song "Weasley is our King" was so very effective in rattling his nerves. Slytherin had a commanding lead over Gryffindor when the golden snitch was spotted by Potter first and then Draco. Draco knew he wouldn't be able to reach the snitch in time, so he focused on keeping Potter from grabbing it to allow his team more time to get the point that would guarantee their victory even if Potter got the snitch. He tried his very best, but Gryffindor was still able to triumph all because of the stupid four-eyed git.

Draco's awareness of his own lesser abilities, the fact that all his efforts hadn't prevented Gryffindor's win, and the knowledge that Leda had seen it all incited a rage within Draco when he touched down on the pitch after Potter had captured the snitch. This rage was the reason he felt the need to taunt the person who'd taken all the glory away from him again. This rage was ultimately why the Weasel twins were fighting to attack him, and why eventually Harry let one of them go to run towards him also enraged.

Draco's face went pale when he realized that Potter was actually heading towards him to duel. He didn't expect Harry to forget his wand and use his fist to punch Draco in the jaw. He felt something crunch and pop painfully, but he wasn't allowed time to focus on that as the Weasel twin had caught up with Potter and joined in.

It had been Draco's instinct to curl into a ball when he'd landed on the ground. There was no doubt this instinct had kept Draco from acquiring further injury than he had when Madame Hooch was finally able to separate the three boys.

Potter and the Weasel twins were sent to Professor McGonagall's office while Draco was helped to the infirmary and to Madame Pomfrey's care. She checked him over for broken bones, there were none, and infection, none yet. Draco's jaw had been dislocated by Potter's fist, but it was quickly healed. When her screening showed he wasn't much worse for the wear, she sent him back to the Slytherin common room with some salve for the bruises and pain.

The healer's examination had been very through, and so it was after dinner by the time Draco had made his way to the Slytherin common room in the castle's dungeons where a house party was well under way.

"Draco!" Blaise shouted making his way through the crowd towards his friend. "Look everyone! It's our Prince! Draco has returned!"

Draco was surprised to see everyone turn in the direction of Blaise's voice and raise their cups to salute to Draco with a cry. If he'd expected anything, it would have been a funeral pyre for letting the house down by allowing Potter to win…again.

"What's going on?" Draco asked as Blaise put his arm around his friend's shoulder and guided him through the dancing crowd. Someone had charmed the wireless to play louder than usual and couples were dancing in all the free space the room afforded.

"You haven't heard?" Blaise asked looking at his friend strangely.

Draco suspected that someone had spiked whatever it was that everyone was drinking, and that Blasie had had too much of it already.

"Heard what? I've just come back from the infirmary," Draco explained with little patience.

"Potter and the Weasley twins have been banned from playing for life! And guess who did it?"

"Who?" Draco asked playing along but already having a good idea. He looked around the crowd for Leda. He couldn't see her anywhere.

"Umbridge. That's who! Old toad face dropped right in McGonagall's face and banned them from ever playing again. Even confiscated their brooms and everything. Gryffindor doesn't have a chance against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw with their best beaters and seeker missing. Not with that pathetic keeper of theirs!"

And with that Blaise started up another round of "Weasley is our King," the most popular song in Slytherin for decades. Draco ducked from under Blaise's arm and made his way up to his dorm looking for Leda all the while. He'd made it to the stairs unmolested.

In his dorm, he quickly changed clothes. His Qudditich robes were bloody from the cuts he'd gotten from Potter's and Weasel's punches. He put some of the slave on, and the throbbing in his jaw and ribs lessened to a more manageable irritation.

The party downstairs would rage all night, for Professor Snape never came down to the dungeons to end a party. Draco would wake to find a small semblance of the ruckus in the morning, but his thoughts were not lingering on this fact as he moved through the large room. His thoughts were all for Leda with a determined single-mindedness.

"There he is!" A girl shouted from Draco's left.

He couldn't help himself. He snapped his head in her direction thinking for the barest of seconds it was Leda. Pansy was the one who appeared followed by Daphne and Tracey. The three girls looked almost starving to get a piece of him.

"Ladies," he greeted them with one of his usual smiles having no idea what its effect would be with all the bruises and cuts on his face.

"Oh, poor Dracie," Pansy cooed touching his face with her fingertips gently but still causing him to wince. "You look awful! Let me make it feel better."

Pansy's words seemed to set off something in the other girls, and before he knew it he was being caudled by all three. He felt hands on his arms, chest, and face. He tried not to wince when a hand would graze over a sore spot, something he had in abundance. He didn't fight how much pleasure he derived from all the attention, but a single image sprang to his mind as the girls forced him into a seat.

"Leda," he whispered to himself.

"What was that, Draco?" Daphne asked in a gentle voice.

Draco opened and then closed his eyes trying to rid himself of Leda's influence, but it was no use. He opened them again and pulled himself away from the girls.

"Have any of you seen Leda?" He asked extracting himself from the chair and straightening his clothing.

Draco knew that if he wanted a chance at Leda he would only have one shot with her. Once false move, and she would shut him out completely. He forced himself to ignore the pleasure that was promised in the three girls' touch by remembering the triumph that would await if he was successful with Leda. A little sacrifice now would bring great rewards latter. Things between him and Leda had changed, but his goal had not.

"Hmm?" Pansy asked looking at Draco through clouded eyes.

That explained their attack. They'd all been drinking…heavily. Draco looked to Tracey who seemed the least intoxicated and repeated his question hoping she would know where the other girl was.

"The library, I think. Where else would boring Leda be when there's a party going on?" She's been sitting on the arm rest of the chair Draco had been in, and she fell into the seat now.

Draco turned from the girls shaking his head in disgust. He turned his back on them and made his way out of the common room quickly. He was stopped by several of his house mates to offer him congratulations and sympathy. Crabbe and Goyle approached and moved to follow Draco out, but he told them to enjoy themselves at the party while he dealt with business.

Whenever Draco hung out with Leda, it was always just the two of them. Crabbe and Goyle were around often enough during meals and classes, and Draco refused to share Leda even with them if he wasn't forced. The library was a good place to seek sanctuary from them, as neither had ever stepped foot inside. Draco hadn't even known until their second year that they could read never having seen them do it before.

The library was nearly deserted. Madame Pince gave him an evil glare as he walked past her as though knowing he were up to no good in the library on a Saturday evening. He ignored her and walked towards Leda's favorite spot to study. There were a few students among the bookshelves surprisingly. Most of them were Ravenclaws, but Draco did notice Hermione Granger sitting at a table piled high with books. He resisted the urge to torment the Mudblood choosing to focus on finding Leda instead.

Leda's back was to the aisle, so Draco spotted her before she noticed his appearance. She was still wearing the clothes she'd had on down at the pitch. Her hair was carefully curled today but hanging freely down her back. This was one of Draco's favorite hairstyles. The curls reminded him of freedom, beautiful freedom. She sat hunched over a large volume and scratched notes away on a piece of parchment.

Draco sat down in the seat next to her, and Leda glanced up at the sound of the chair next to her scraping along the floor. She glared at him angrily which surprised Draco. He didn't know what he'd done, and the girl's mood swings were violent and everlasting it seemed.

"Leda," he cooed in his most gentle voice, "you're missing a big party."

She'd looked down as soon as she'd given him a full measure of her glare and returned to her work ignoring him. Only a slight pause in her writing indicated that she was listening. This could have been attributed from her need for a new sheet which she grabbed without regard to Draco's presence.

"Aww, come on, 'Eda," Draco coaxed using his pet name for her, "tell me what's wrong. Why are you upset?"

Silence and scraping on the parchment with her quill. Draco sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair frustrated. She was an enigma, and he could never guess what caused her coldness or warmness from one moment to the next.

"Please, talk to me." He'd gotten good at using the p-word around her in the last month.

It didn't work. Leda continued to ignore him pursuing her notes with purposefulness.

Draco sighed and thought quickly for some way to reach her. His eyes landed on her favorite quill which she only used for essays and tests. He leaned forward grabbed a piece of parchment and her quill. He heard her gasp of protest as his finger wrapped around the prized possession. He would make her take notice.

He carefully dipped the quill in the ink and wrote on the parchment,_ Why won't you talk to me?_

He waited for the ink to dry before letting the parchment fall over her book forcing her to read his question. He kept hold of the quill using it as leverage.

Leda read the question, and Draco was afraid she was going to ignore him this way as well. Finally she reached and dibbed her quill into the ink and replied.

_I'm too angry with you to speak._

_Angry with me?_ He wrote after reading her message. _What did I do?_

Leda paused before answering and then pressed nib to parchment. _I heard what you said about Potter's mother and the Weasleys. _

_So?_

_It was wrong, Draco._

He starred at the parchment for a long moment pretending to digest her words but really examining the way she wrote his name. It wasn't particularly special, but the D was larger than any other letter on the page. It warmed him for some reason to see his name written by her hand.

_It was Potter and the Weasels. Who cares what I say to them?_

_I do. It wasn't who you said it to, but what you said that upsets me._

Draco sighed and scratched his chin before replying, _Talk with me, Leda._

_No._

_Please? I'm begging._

_No, I'm still too angry. I would shout, and I don't want to shout at you._

_I'd rather you would._

It was Leda's turn to sigh. She turned her head slightly and looked at Draco out of the corner of her eyes._ I know you would, but that just shows you've been raised in a family where shouting is the only answer. Sometimes silence is best._

_I'm sorry. Okay? Talk to me._

She shook her head,_ No. You don't even know what you're sorry for._

_Then, tell me._

Leda looked at Draco firmly for a moment over her shoulder. They were both hunched over the parchment choosing to write on the parchment between them rather than passing it back and forth now. They read each other's replies as they were written. Draco's left arm rested on the back of Leda's chair, and her shoulder was only a slight distance away from his chest. That was how close they sat next to each other. Draco could feel her body's imprint into his side without actually touching her.

_You shouldn't make fun of peoples' mothers. Especially, when they haven't been as lucky as you to know their parents. _

Leda straightened and returned to her work. Draco stared at the words on the page for a long time before placing the quill back in its place, folding up the parchment and placing it inside his pocket. He stood and retreated willing to let Leda alone for once.


	6. Chapter 6

Six

Draco had retreated knowing it was best, but he hadn't given up the war yet. He had learned a lot about Leda in their time as friends, but she had kept her mouth tightly locked when it came to her parents. Draco assumed they were dead, and his callous remarks to Potter and the Weasels had unintentionally hurt Leda. He had to apologize sincerely, and he would wait all night if he must to do it.

Draco took a seat on the floor opposite the entrance to the Slytherin common room. It would be better for him to wait outside rather than fall into the mess inside. The party still had a few hours left before most of the students would pass out either in their beds or on the couches around the common room. There was too much temptation and pressure waiting inside for him to join the fun. If he went in there, he would ruin the chance he had to patch things up with Leda.

Draco let his head fall back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. Why was it so important that he fix this? Why did he feel so badly about what he'd done not to the stupid Gryffindors but to Leda? Why did he care so much? It was inexplicable even to himself.

While he waited, he tried to sort it out in his mind. He carefully cordoned off every part of himself which had nothing to do with Leda so that he could figure out why he was so driven to be on good terms with the girl. As he sorted through his emotions and feelings, he realized that nothing was being set aside. Everything, every beat of his heart, every memory, and every experience was now clouded by the girl. Her named infused everything, every part of his soul. His heart sang her name, his blood raced with the sound, and the beat of his life source was, Leda, Leda, Leda.

Draco's gasp as this realization and the sudden jerk of his body to attention were the only sounds which filled the corridor. His eyes flew open as the truth his heart had known already began to sink into his brain. Somewhere, somehow in his attempts to capture Leda's heart she had taken his. He clutched the fabric of his sweater and shirt which lay over his heart as though trying to hold on to the heart that was already missing. How did this happen?

Draco could easily admit to anyone that of all the girls of his acquaintance Leda Vieson was by far the only one in her class. She towered above the other girls in beauty, intelligence, and virtue. She was at peace with herself and her surroundings, and Draco felt calmed by her presence rather than always spurred into nervous action. She was witty, and Draco was always challenged by her conversation. Without realizing what he was doing, Draco had been spoiled by her. He didn't care for any other's company. She had created a hole in his spirit which she alone could fill.

Draco slumped against the wall still clutching at his heart. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, but Leda walked around the corner from the library holding a book she read from as she walked. Draco felt ill and nervous when he saw her, and stretched out his long legs to make himself more comfortable. He didn't think this through, though. Leda was not watching her feet and tripped over Draco's ankle. He cursed and jumped up to catch Leda, but the best he managed to do was break her fall. The two fell in a tangle of feet and arms with the book Leda had been reading falling a little ways off.

"Draco! What on earth were you thinking?" Leda exclaimed in frustration trying to push herself off of Draco.

Her hands dug into his ribs and he hissed at the pressure which would have been bad enough if he was healthy, but with his previously won injuries made tears rise to his eyes. "Ow! Stop, stop, Leda!" She moved her hands, but her knee dug into his shin causing him another bruise. "Stop, Leda, just stop moving alright!"

"This is ridiculous," she complained but stopped trying to rise.

Draco took a deep breath first. Leda's head lay on his shoulder with her arms pinned between herself and Draco. Their feet were tangled, and Draco slowly extracted his legs from Leda's. If it weren't for the pain he felt from the fall, the beating he'd taken that morning, and Leda's failed attempts to right herself, Draco would have made a snarky remark about her lying on top of him. As it was, he didn't have the fortitude to broach the subject and possible rib Leda into frantic action again.

"Okay, you should be able to roll to the side," Draco said breathlessly. "For the love of Merlin, please be careful."

Leda mumbled something Draco couldn't understand and rolled off of him. She did kick him with her heel, but thankfully it wasn't in a previously injured area. Draco wrapped an arm protectively around his ribs as he pushed himself into a sitting position with the other hand. Leda crawled on hands and knees to retrieve her book.

"What on earth were you doing, Draco?" She asked flipped the pages of the book to determine if it were damaged. "What evil plan of yours would have you sitting out in the corridor tripping unsuspecting students?"

Draco scooted himself towards the wall again and leaned against the damp stone while his ribs throbbed painfully. His breath was short because expanding his ribs too far hurt painfully. Apparently, the healer's slave had worn off.

"I…was…waiting…for…you," Draco replied gasping for breath between each word.

"Really?" She huffed reaching on hands and knees for her bag which had fallen without distributing her books and supplies all over the floor. "I refuse to speak to you one time, and you're already plotting my death. I could have broken my neck."

"Shouldn't…read…while…walking," he answered.

Leda slipped the strap of her bag over her shoulder and looked at Draco critically while on her knees. She seemed to be making a decision. She must have made it quickly, though, as she got to her feet after only a brief pause.

"What did the healer give you for your injuries?" She asked squatting down beside the pale boy.

"Salve… in my room."

"Did you put in on?"

"Course," he answered trying to breath at the same time.

"And it didn't heal the injuries?"

Draco shook his head as the pain began to subside. He relaxed his arm a bit. Breathing became a little easier and evened out.

"She must have been determined to teach you a lesson," Leda said with pursed lips. "Come on. I know something that will help."

She stood and offered her hand to Draco. He took several deep breaths before taking her hand and rising painfully. He bent forward in pain when he stood, and Leda quickly wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled his arm over her shoulders to support him. He was grateful for her help, for he would have collapsed back to the floor without her. He let her guide him down the corridor not to the common room surprisingly but towards the Potions labs. After about twenty steps, Draco felt strong enough to walk on his own, but he didn't let on. He enjoyed far too much the press of Leda's body next to his to give it up, and he smirked to himself when she wasn't looking.

"Here, have a seat," Leda said propelling him to a seat in their potions classroom, "and take off your shirt."

"What?" Draco asked surprised.

"Don't be so modest, Malfoy. I need to see the injuries so that I know how much of what I need to mix," she explained taking out her supplies and cauldron.

Draco sighed quietly while Leda's back was turned and then pulled the sweater over his head gingerly. He pulled his shirttail up and began unbuttoning it slowly. Leda was busy chopping up a root he didn't recognize into fine pieces. She scooped up the substance when it was sufficiently cut and dropped it into the cauldron. She added some water with her wand and began cooking the mixture of a flame before turning to Draco.

"Slip off the shirt and stand if you can, please," she order coming around the table towards him.

Rather than argue, Draco did as he was told. Leda bent forwarded and gingerly grazed her fingers over the blue and purple bruises that decorated his normally alabaster white chest. She pressed inward in a few places causing Draco to wince. She touched a particular one towards his back so firmly that Draco sucked in air quickly surprised by the pain.

"They did I fine job of it, didn't they," she remarked straightening and moving towards her brewing potion. "You can put your shirt back on, but leave it unbuttoned. I'll have to watch your injuries after you take this to make sure they heal properly."

"Sure that it's not just because you like seeing me with my shirt off?" Draco asked with a smirk while slipped the shirt over his shoulders.

He said it more to relieve his own tension at standing half-naked in front of the girl he loved. She'd driven him nearly mad trailing her fingers lightly over his skin. Only the reminder of pain kept his head in the right place. It would have been all too easy to slip into a fantasy where Leda was equally naked and seducing the boy rather than studying his injuries.

Leda stopped her deposit of ingredients into the potion, and look over her shoulder at Draco. "Yes because blue and purple blemishes are so damned sexy."

Draco retook his seat and leaned forward on his elbows resting on the tabletop. "This potion is going to heal me?"

"For the most part," Leda answered not looking at him as she carefully watched the sprinkling of powder falling from her hand into the mixture. "It'll heal the worst part of it. You'll still be a little sore, but in a day or two it'll be as though it never happened."

"I wonder that the healer doesn't know about it," Draco said reaching for the book Leda had been reading when he'd tripped her. She'd left it on the table beside him.

"Where do you think I learned about it? She knows about it alright."

Draco closed the cover suddenly. "Then why didn't she administer it to me this afternoon."

Leda finished adding the ingredients and took a stool opposite Draco. She reached forward and took the book away. "I'm guessing she heard why you were there, and decided you needed to learn a lesson for picking a fight."

"We'll see who learns a lesson when my father hears about this," Draco replied indigently.

"Don't be ridiculous, Draco," Leda said fingering the cover of her book in front of her now. "You aren't going to tell your father. I would have done the same thing in her place, and you don't want you father finding out what you did to earn these injuries."

Draco was silent. He hated when she was right. "If you would have done the same, why are you helping me now?"

"You whine a lot less when you're not hurt," she teased with a mischievous expression. "And if I had to witness the other girls fussing over you, I'd probably vomit all over them."

Draco smiled. If only she knew. Perhaps it was the best after all that she hadn't been at the party when he'd gotten back from the infirmary.

"So what where you reading?" He asked pointing to the book she cradled between her hands. "You really should quit that habit, by the way. It's a good way to get your neck broken."

"Only if idiot students are sitting in the corridors waiting to trip people," she replied looking at Draco with a wicked gleam in her eye. "It's an old book of mine. I read it when nothing else suits."

"What's it about?" Draco asked interested by the way she held the book—like it was a treasure.

"It's an anthology of poetry," she answered.

"May I?" He asked holding out a hand for the book.

Leda hesitated a moment before handing it over. Draco opened it to a random page and read aloud the first thing he saw on the page.

"When I am dead, my dearest,

Sing no sad songs for me;

Plant thou no roses at my head,

Nor shady cypress tree:

Be the green grass above me

With showers and dewdrops wet;

And if thou wilt, remember,

And if thou wilt, forget."

Draco closed the book and looked up at Leda who was starring off into space. She continued the poem from memory.

"I shall not see the shadows,

I shall not feel the rain;

I shall not hear the nightingale

Sing on, as if in pain:

And dreaming through the twilight

That doth not raise nor set,

Haply I may remember,

And haply I may forget."

"A favorite of yours?" Draco asked returning the book to the girl.

"Of a sort," she answered accepting the proffered volume. "It was my father's book. It's the only thing I have left of him, and that poem was marked with a star in the margin. It could have been his favorite, or he might have hated it. I have no way of knowing either way."

"Listen, Leda, I'm sorry that what I said today upset you," Draco began after a long pause. "Please forgive me, and know that I never meant to hurt you."

Leda refused to look at him as he spoke, and when he finished she sighed loudly and turned around and leaned against the table with her back facing Draco. That didn't bode well, he believed.

"I know," she sighed. "I know, and I'm not really mad at you anymore. It was stupid of me to get so worked up in the first place. It's just," she spun around quickly, "you don't know what it's like not knowing your parents. My father died while I was still just a baby, and I've never met my mother. It's stupid, I know, but I envy the Weasleys. They, at least, have a mother and father that love them like you do. And what do I have? A grandmother who has been counting down the days until she could auction me off to the highest bidder."

Draco was stunned by this admission. It was the most personal thing she'd ever confessed to him yet. It also warmed his little black heart. Was it possible that she could see him as a friend and potentially a lover? Could she love him back as he loved her?

Leda had laid her hands on the book on the table, and Draco leaned forward carefully to place one of his over them. She looked up in surprised, and they stared at one another for a long moment. Perhaps, he did have a shot. She drew back her hands and turned to the potion. Then again, maybe not.

Leda stirred the potion judged it sufficiently brewed and poured a hefty amount into a cup. "Take off your shirt," she said turning to Draco with cup in hand.

Draco smirked in his usual way as he disrobed. "You just love saying that to me, don't you? Go on. Admit it."

Leda rolled her eyes and quickly replaced the potion for his shirt. "Drink it quickly. It tastes awful, but I don't have any honey to sweeten it."

Draco starred down at the brew. The brown liquid was still very warm and steam rose from its murky surface. The aroma was certainly less than appealing, but a twinge in his side reminded him of the pain. He lifted the cup in toast and then quickly gulped the disgusting liquid down. It was a good thing that he finished it off in the first go, because Leda checked that it had all been taken. Draco wasn't sure he could have forced himself to sip it a second time.

"Ugh, that's the worse tasting stuff I've ever had," he complained making a face.

Leda ignored him but bent forward to studying his ribs and stomach. He felt her fingers tickling his flesh, but her touch was light and quick. She didn't hurt him at all this time.

"I think that'll do it," she said after a few moments and handing Draco his shirt. "Please put on some clothes, now."

She handed him his shirt with a smile and returned to her supplies and cauldron. Draco looked down and found the bruises gone. He touched himself gingerly in a particularly nasty spot, but it was only tender. He twisted at the waist. It didn't hurt. He touched his jaw. He felt nothing. He slipped on his shirt quickly, buttoned a few of the buttons before rushing to Leda, taking her in his arms, and spinning her around in his gratitude.

"Put me down, Malfoy," she exclaimed in a bossy voice. "This is ridiculous! Put me down!"

Draco did as she asked but held her at arm's length. "You are by far the most brilliant witch I know!"

Without thinking, he pulled her forward and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Leda, to her credit, didn't blush. Instead, she shrugged off Draco's hands from her shoulders and returned to cleaning her things with a shaking head.

"You are by far the most irritating wizard I know," she commented as Draco finished dressing himself.

"Aww, you know you love me, 'Eda," he teased tucking his shirttail back in after pulling his sweater over his head.

She paused her work long enough to give him a face which countered that statement very effectively. "There's some reason I haven't cursed your bollocks off yet," she conceded reaching for her bag now that her cauldron was cleaned and her supplies were properly stored.

Draco reached for the bag first and shouldered it ignoring Leda's protest while he said, "My bollocks and I thank you for that."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm not very pleased with the results of this and another couple of chapters, but they will have to do. Please bare with me as I wrote these chapters in a bit of a slump. I'm back on my feet again, however, and I promise better things are to come if you push through with me. Enjoy!**

Seven

She was late for breakfast…again. This was becoming a habit of Leda's, and Draco hated it. It reminded him all too acutely how much he'd come to depend on her. When she wasn't there, he felt her absence. Two sides of himself warred over this weakness—one side accepted it as part of loving someone while the other berated him for being soft.

Oddly the berating voice sounded vaguely like his father. That was ridiculous, though. Deficient as Lucious was as a father; Draco knew that his mother and father were very much in love. Draco could understand why his father loved his mother so much. She was the epitome of beauty, culture, elegance, and breeding. She was everything a man could want for in a wife—graceful, confident, and delicate. She was the perfect woman accepting her role as both the partner of a strong wizard as well as a leader among the other witches in their social circle. It was a tricky position to navigate, but Narcissa balanced the trials of her place well.

Accordingly, the softer voice within reminded Draco of this paradigm of motherhood and womanhood. Draco had been told his entire life that he was an exact copy of his father, and in appearance he would agree. No matter how much he would try, though, to live up to his father's exacting nature, there was a side of himself—one he believed came from his mother—which would never measure up.

When he was with Leda…he was completely different. She tempered everything around him. She made unpleasant things like tests, essays, Crabbe and Goyle, and Pansy's snide remarks bearable. Indeed, Draco was able to stand them with a smile on his face. Enjoyable things were all wrapped up in Leda and she amplified those as well. Her smile, her laughter, the occasional snarky remark or look it all made him happier than he ever thought possible. So happy he had been, in fact, some Hufflepuffs got a little uppity with him a few days ago. He'd sent Crabbe and Goyle to teach them a lesson.

Draco couldn't imagine it ever coming to an end. A plan to ensure this never happened had begun to form in his mind. He and his family had received their invitation to Leda's ball, and it was a ball meant to showcase her as a marriageable young lady. Draco was beginning to think of how he could influence his father to accept Leda as his future daughter-in-law. Leda's family was very rich, and she was the sole heir to that fortune. That alone should win over his father, for Draco's feelings for her wouldn't be considered when choosing his bride. Fortune, family connections, and breeding were the standards by which any potential brides would be measured.

"Where's your groupie, Draco?" Pansy asked snaking her hand across his shoulders as she took the seat next to him.

"I don't know who you mean," he replied with a smooth voice and smile covering his true feelings. He hadn't heard her approach, and his first reaction was to draw away in disgust.

"Leda, of course," Pansy whispered into his ear letting her breath tickle the hair on his neck. "She practically hangs all over you these days."

"That's ironic," Draco said taking her hand and lifting it from his shoulder and tossing it aside, "coming from you."

Draco looked over to the doorway hoping Leda would appear. Ever since her confrontation with Pansy weeks ago, Pansy stayed clear of Draco when she was around. It had become one of the many things Draco really appreciated about Leda especially as Pansy had gotten about twenty million times worse about pouting since his break up with her.

"Dracie, I've been thinking about us a lot lately, and I was hoping we could get back together."

Draco tried to hold back his snort of disgust but wasn't quite successful. "Pansy, we were never really 'together,' and we'll never be 'together' again. I'm not interested…not now, not _ever._"

Pansy's face turned red, and he knew her anger was boiling up to an alarming pitch.

"This is that half-blood's doing, isn't it?" She cried suddenly bursting at a deafening screech. "She's changed you, Draco Malfoy! You used to be nice and fun to be around, but now you're mean to your own kind and nice to the filthy half-bloods and mudbloods of this school! You don't even act like a pure-blood anymore!"

"I don't have to _act_ like anything, Pansy. I _am_ pure-blood," Draco said with disdain.

"What about your new girlfriend, huh? I hear her mother's a filthy muggle, and her father had to leave her with her grandmother out of shame before he killed himself for sinking so low and consorting with a muggle."

Draco and the students surrounding the bickering couple all felt the proverbial slap Pansy's words had made in Leda's face. Draco felt his blood boil, and his hand twitch to grasp his wand. He could never challenge a girl to a duel, but he longed to exact some sort of revenge.

"As usual Pansy, you don't know what you're talking about, and these petty games you insist on playing simply because I won't sleep with you are pathetic. Desperation doesn't become you, but then nothing ever does," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. There! That was fodder for the gossips in their house.

Pansy stood in a huff, but wasn't content until she had had the last word. "Believe it or not, Draco, that whore you're pursuing is practically a muggle, and everyone knows it. Why else would she be having that obnoxious ball? To convince us all that she's pure-blooded. Far be it from me to question _the_ Malfoy, but if I were you I wouldn't want my future heir to walk these halls as a dirty…little…mudblood."

A crowd had formed around the pair, as Slytherins younger and older gathered to see what the latest Malfoy drama was today. Pansy marched off head held high, nose stuck in the air. Draco watched her go, and felt sick when she pushed past Leda who'd seen and heard it all, the worst parts at least.

For a moment, Draco thought that Leda was going to run away, but she surprised everyone when she calmly moved towards the table and took a seat across from Draco. Everyone, including Draco, stared at her as she began helping herself to oatmeal and toast. She had token three bites at least before everyone began to lose interest. Leda knew the best way to stave off interest was to be as boring as possible, and her performance was legendary. Draco couldn't help himself, though. He couldn't resume his breakfast or stop looking at the girl opposite him.

He was worried about her. It wasn't just this most recent blow. She had dark circles under her eyes as though she weren't sleeping well. Her face was pale and drawn. Despite the show she was putting on now for the benefit of the other students, Draco knew she wasn't eating much on a regular basis. Something was wrong with her, and it worried him greatly to not know what it was and help her bear it as she helped him.

"Hey?" He said grabbing her hand before she drew it back from grabbing another piece of toast. She looked up with a questioning look. "You okay?"

Leda pulled her hand away and began playing with her food, pretending to eat. "Of course. You don't think I'd let Pansy Parkinson get to me do you?"

"It'd be oaky if it did," he assured her embracing the sensitive side of himself.

"I'm fine," she stated firmly and gave him a drop-it look.

Draco did drop it. He was compelled to watch her, though, over the next few days. For the first time, here was someone who needed him. More importantly, here was someone who needed him and that he cared enough about to help them.

All his life he had limited his interest to three people: himself, his father, and his mother. His parents, being grown and having each other, had never needed him, and so his entire existence revolved around one person—himself. Suddenly, his sphere had expanded, shifted really, to this other person who had never asked for his presence in her life. It frightened him.

His fear of caring and his fear at how Leda would react if he tried to help kept him silent until her saw her walking along the lake Friday afternoon after Qudditich practice—Montague was relentless in his desire to practice in all types of weather. Draco separated from the team, and pulled his cloak around him tightly as his pushed his way through the snow towards the lone girl.

"You're going to catch your death out here," he pointed out when he was within hearing distance of the girl.

Leda stood starring out over the Black Lake. Ice had frozen from the shore several feet out, but the majority of the loch remained liquid from all the salt water which filtered in from the sea. She looked as though she might step out on to the unsafe ice so close she stood to the shoreline. Draco feared for her safety. It would be a good way to commit suicide, because the flimsy ice would break under a person's weight even as slight a person as Leda. Draco wouldn't put it past Leda to try something stupid like that so depressed were her spirits lately.

Leda turned slightly and looked over her shoulder with a mournful expression, one she'd worn at times since the Qudditich match. There was a chill breeze coming from the lake, and it picked up one of her carefully curled locks. Despite her haggard appearance, Draco thought she looked lovely.

"Why don't you go inside, then, if you're so worried about catching death?" She suggested in her usual defensive tone.

Draco walked towards her as he spoke. "Because I saw a girl down here who hasn't been eating or sleeping. A cold would do her in, I think."

Leda returned her gaze to the lake sharply. "I didn't ask for your pity, Draco Malfoy, or your concern."

Draco pulled his cloak off and held it out for Leda who looked at it with disdain. "Take this at least. How long have you been out here?" He asked while twitching his cloak urging her to take it.

"Long enough," she said resigned to accepting his help.

Draco placed the green and sliver Qudditich cloak over her thin shoulders with great care. On him the jacket fell a few inches above his ankles, but it trailed on the ground when worn by Leda. She looked beautiful in green. Their house's colors made her purple eyes pop out even more than usual. They didn't sparkle today, however.

"'Eda, I know something is bothering you—has been bothering you for a while now—and it's not just what Pansy said," he held up his hand and dropped it when all sign of protest from Leda had gone, "which _did_ bother you. I wish you would share it with me. Maybe I could help. That's all I want—to help you."

Leda's eyes softened, and her head fell to one side slightly as she starred at him. Another breeze from the lake swept over them. Draco's robes were pulled around Leda and another curl swept over her face.

"You're a sweet guy, you know that," she said as though just realizing it for the first time. "You don't let people see this side of you, but beneath it all you are a good person. Remember that no matter what."

Draco didn't like the sound of this. It sounded as though she were both saying hello and goodbye in the same breath. She was allowing him passage into the depths of her inner workings while bidding him farewell from her life forever. He didn't know how prophetic that impression was until much later.

"You're right," she said looking down at the ground between them.

"What's new?" Draco joked weakly. Leda gave him an irritated look, and he felt genuine remorse. "About what?"

"What Pansy said did bother me," she answered. "It hurt to have someone expose me like she did, but she also frightened me. Because she got too close to the truth."

"What truth?" He asked probing for her secret when she paused for too long a period. He could tell that she was still fighting over whether to confide in him or not.

"What I'm about to tell you, Draco, is dangerous. If anyone knew that I told you, you're life would be in danger, and nothing and no one could save you: not me, not your parents, not even Dumbledore. You still have a choice…right now. You can walk away and remain safe, and I won't think anything less of you. If you stay, I will tell you my secret."

She closed her mouth, looked Draco in the eye and waited for him to make his decision. "You're kidding, right?" He asked with some derision. "What on earth could require such a prelude?"

"Choose, Draco. Stay or leave, but remember what I said and that I gave you a chance."

"I'm staying, Leda. I'm your friend. Friends help each other out when they're in trouble. Let me help."

Leda's face twisted in a combination of a smirk and a grimace. It chilled Draco's heart. Such a lovely face should only wear a smile.

Leda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She began while her eyes were still closed, "That's just it, Draco. You can't help me…no one can."

She opened her eyes and pushed the sleeve of her left arm up to the elbow. Draco didn't look down at first. He held his eyes on her beautiful violet eyes for a long time trying to convince her that he was sincere. When he finally looked down, the black mark was obviously visible on her porcelain white skin. The Dark Mark was emblazoned there, and Draco's eyes widened as his mind was frozen by the shock. He'd thought quickly to all the times he'd seen her arm bare in the past and found the sum total of his experience was the afternoon he helped her pick out her dress. She must know a spell that hides it from view, because neither he onr the attendants had noticed it then.

"How did you get that?" He asked finally as the spell that mark held over him was broken when she pushed her sleeve back down.

His heart raced and his thoughts ran amuck. Only Death Eaters closest to the Dark Lord were given the Dark Mark like his aunt Bella and his father. Those who received it had proven themselves and earned the trust of the Dark Lord. Usually, that meant doing unspeakable things, and Draco's mind couldn't comprehend how his sweet Leda could have done anything like it to prove herself despite her youth. It was unconceivable.

"The Viesons have always been proponents of blood purity. They led the cause in France as your family has done in England. After my father died, my grandmother, originally an English debutant as steeply indoctrinated about status as the Viesons could have wished, saw an opportunity. She made an alliance with Voldemort. She saw in him a leader capable of finally leading the wizarding world to greatness, and she struck a bargain with him. Me and the Vieson support for the promise of prominence and status once he was lord of all. I was given this mark when I was only four months old."

"I don't understand," Draco confessed feeling the blood drain from his face and his knees going weak. "Why did he give you the mark?"

"You see Pansy was right about one thing. My Sang d'Immaculé is a ploy to prove my blood status and rank, but it's not to find me a suitable husband. I'm promised to marry Voldemort as soon as I am of age, and he wanted me to be presented so that they will accept me as their Dark Lady, their leader. This mark is a visible sign of his claim over me."

Draco stumbled backwards stunned by the blow of her confession. She was promised to be married to _him_. The Dark Lord was taking a bride, and no one knew about it. Draco was convinced his father and aunt didn't know about any of this otherwise he would have had a clue, a hint, anything that the girl who'd taken his heart wasn't his to pursue. Suddenly, Draco felt like the biggest idiot at Hogwarts…bigger even than Weasel at a Qudditich match.

"Have you been spying on me all this time?" He asked defensively thinking of the first thing that could hide his foolishness. "Has this been some sort of test to see if I'm worthy?"

"No!" Leda replied horrified. "How could you think that? I would never betray you especially to a man I hate more than anything else."

Draco's face went blank and harder than stone. He clenched his fists and stood up taller. "Those are dangerous words, Vieson. Don't let me hear them again, or I'll be forced to report them. We can none of us turn against our Lord."

"He's not _my_ lord! Tell him! See if I care? Tell them all! He knows already how I feel about this arrangement, and I hate him all the more for taking my life away just as surely as if he used the killing curse on me. I hate him, and what he stands for. Don't you feel the same way, Draco? I've thought I've seen the same thoughts in your eyes—the disdain for always having to keep up appearances, the blood status, the responsibility. I'd begun to think you felt as I do that Voldemort was wrong and evil. I know you aren't like him. You don't have to pretend with me."

She stepped towards him with an earnest expression on her beautiful face. Draco found hope there, true and honest hope. It lit up her worn face and made her natural beauty all the more brilliant. It was a lie, though, a trick. It had to be. There was no way she'd be given the Mark and then allowed to really believe what she said. It had to be a trick, a test.

"I'm not pretending, Vieson. You can tell the Dark Lord that I am faithful and willing to serve him whenever he should have need of me. I detest the filthy mudbloods roaming this castle, and Dumbledore has shamed all wizard-kind by taking up their cause. You can tell him that."

Leda stumbled backwards towards the lake as though she'd been physically hit by Draco. She saw his determination set in his angular jaw and fine nose. She watched his eyes, and whatever she saw there steadied her.

"When you came over here, I was thinking how easy it would be to just walk out onto the ice until it broke beneath me. It would be so easy just to slip beneath the water and sink. It was all the hope I had left that in the next life I could have the freedom I've been denied in this one.

"Taking the easy way out however has been a lesson I've been taught to abhor, and I refuse to give in now. I refuse to accept you mean what you say, but I can't force you to be honest with me. I've never forced myself on anyone least of all you, and I won't now.

"No, I won't kill myself yet, because I see there is still some good in the world. There's a little in you and a very little in me. I'll cling to it whatever the size." She pulled Draco's cloak off and held it out to him with one hand. "Thank you, Draco, for helping me see what I must do now and that I have the strength to do it. Take care of yourself."

Draco accepted the cloak with stiff arms and a numb mind. He tried to absorb everything she said, but it was as though all reason and thought were frozen. She marched away determined towards the castle leaving Draco alone to sort through this mess on his own.


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

Draco sighed loudly and rolled over in his bed. Crabbe and Goyle alternated their snoring so that there was a constant sawing noise echoing from each side of the room. Usually, this didn't bother Draco. Four years of hearing it every night had made him immune to the irritating sound, but tonight he was restless. Their symphony of sleep only grated his already frayed nerves more.

He kicked his covers off feeling hot suddenly. The cool air assaulted the skin of his bare chest instantly making him cold and forced him to reach down and pull the covers back over him. His settled down in his bed comfortable at last and closed his eyes to sleep.

His mind had other plans, however. It had been nearly two weeks since Draco's conversation with Leda by the lake. Since the moment she walked away he'd been trying to process it all, and every moment he didn't force his mind to other pursuits was spent absorbing it. Unfortunately, it had left him with many sleepless nights tossing and turning in his bed as he fought for sleep.

Draco sat up frustrated by his thought-filled mind. He ran his hands through his slivery blonde hair before throwing back his covers and slipping from his bed. His grabbed a t-shirt from the floor and slipped out of the room quickly. If he couldn't sleep, then he would think about the things he hadn't let himself dwell on for too long in the past two weeks. He hoped the fire in the common room was still lit, so that he didn't have to sit in the damp cold of his common room while he cleared his mind.

Draco pulled the shirt he brought over his head as he reached the final few steps. He didn't expect the gasp he heard as he reached the common room. His shirt fell over his head revealing Leda kneeling at the blazing fire with a sheet held in her hand. Draco realized she was starring at his still exposed stomach, and he pushed the shirt down breaking the spell over her.

Leda to her credit did not blush. She returned to her work intent on completely ignoring Draco. He watched as she lowered the parchment she held in her hand into the fire until it was ablaze and then dropped it into the flames watching until there was only hot ash remaining. She pulled out another piece of parchment from her small pile and began the process again. Draco approached stopping at the couch before the fire. He could see there was tiny handwriting covering every inch of the parchment. All of it was written in Leda's hand.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask.

Leda looked at him over her shoulder and dropped the next sheet of paper into the flames. "I'm burning this parchment as you see."

"Yes, I know that," he returned in an irritated voice, "but why?"

"I found it therapeutic to writing my thoughts and feelings down when I was a child," she answered turning back to watching the quickly destroyed page. "I learned quickly that leaving one's diary around was dangerous, so I burn what I write immediately. My thoughts and feelings betray me. They are dangerous. One in my position can never be too cautious."

"I guess the future queen of an empire would have a lot on her mind," Draco said glibly.

"Don't call me that!" She shouted turning on him instantly.

Draco stepped back both surprised and fearful of her response. There was a wild anger burning in her eyes, and Draco liked looking the way he did as well as owning all the body parts he possessed. He'd rather liked the idea of keeping them that night.

"Sorry," he muttered moving away a little.

The anger vanished in the space between breaths. Leda's face fell, and her body relaxed from its tense defensive stance so much so that she almost melted into the stone floor. Sadness and regret marred her still lovely features, and Draco found himself enraptured by her. He suddenly felt what it was like to desire something you could never have. Leda was certainly beyond his reach just as surely as the sun and stars danced just outside his grasp.

Leda turned back to her work asking in a deflated voice, "Why are you here, Draco?"

"Couldn't sleep," he answered slipping into a seat nearby. "I needed to think."

Leda nodded and was silent. She obviously meant to give him the quiet he required to think, but her very presence was distracting. The soft sound of parchment rustling as she fed sheet after sheet of her diary into the flame was amplified by the forced silence between them. The crackling of the fire as it consumed the paper seemed to overpower Draco's sensitive hearing. He tried looking away from her crouched figure, but nothing could hold his attention. His eyes inevitably were drawn to her long blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail tonight and her graceful movements.

"It's rude to stare," she said in a dark voice holding the last piece of parchment out over the flames without looking at him. Obviously, she was paying more attention to him than he believed.

"You're very beautiful," Draco said admitting the course of his thoughts without thinking. He regretted it at once.

"I know," she replied sitting back on her heels after the parchment was completely destroyed. She didn't say it in a superior or cocky way. She was simply agreeing with a statement no one could argue. Even Pansy in her hatred and jealousy had to admit Leda was a beautiful girl. "You should not say things like that to me, Draco, now or in public. It leads us into dangerous territory."

She was right, of course. It was immensely stupid to be complementing his future queen so obviously. All the Dark Lord needed to do was look into his or Leda's mind and see how things stood between them. Draco's feelings for Leda were the surest way for him to get himself killed. That was the argument he'd been having in all this time. He needed to give her up, because there was no way she could be his. His heart, however, had other ideas on the subject. Despite it all, he still loved her. That was what plagued him when he tried to sleep, it was the reason he'd come to the common room to think, and it was the reason he still hoped she could love him back while he studied her.

"What do you write that is so dangerous it needs to be burned?" he asked diverting the conversation to another topic just as treacherous.

"Many things." Leda stood and took a seat on the footstool that matched the chair Draco sat in. "Tonight I was thinking about my parents. I wondered if we are destined to share the burden of our parents' sins. I've always had this picture of myself in my mind. I thought I was strong, but I worry that my father's weakness plays more of a role in my actions than I would like."

"What happened to your father?" Draco asked leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He wasn't even aware of this action putting him that much closer to the girl. He didn't realize that she drew him in effortlessly. "How did he die?"

Leda looked down at her clasped hands. She was collecting her thoughts not refusing to answer. Draco recognized the signs and knew she would tell him this secret, this burden, she carried.

"The book I was reading the night you nearly killed me," Draco opened his mouth to argue, but shut it just as quickly deciding to hear the rest of her speech rather than dispute his intentions, "it was the last book my father read before he killed himself. You see my father loved a girl very much once. They met here at school. Both lived and loved in this house. When my father finished school the girl had another year until she was finished, so after asking her to marry him my father decided to take a journey by ship around the world while he waited for her to finish.

"On that journey, my father met my mother towards the end of the trip. One thing led to another, and I was made. They didn't love each other, so my father left when it was time to go home. He intended on marrying the girl he loved without ever breathing a word to anyone about his affair. I disrupted his plans, however.

"On the morning of his wedding day, I was found outside with a letter from my mother explaining that she could not look after me. She begged my father to take his child in and provide for me. He must have been a kind man and a romantic. He wouldn't just leave me to be raised at an orphanage. He took me in inciting his bride's wrath at the same time. She left him furious and refused to marry him.

"My father did not take it well. He lingered for a few months, a shell of the person he once was according to my grandmother. The final straw was the day he learned that the girl he loved was engaged to another Slytherin who was wealthy and had position in society. My father took his broomstick that night and jumped. His cold, broken body was found the next morning. A letter to his sweetheart and another letter to my grandmother were found in his pocket. Whatever was in the letter to my grandmother convinced her to look after me though she hated the sight of me. I was an ever present reminder of all that she and my father had lost."

Draco was quiet. He breathed in and out slowly as Leda looked up at him timidly and then back at her clasped hands. If ever a person had been born who could be called unfortunate, it was Leda. She'd been the product of a loveless union, the source of her father's unhappiness and ultimately death, and she'd been promised to a heartless man bent on dominating the world. The true injustice was that Leda was the most extraordinary girl he'd ever known. She was good and kind. She was smart and feisty. Draco was convinced if her father could have known who his daughter would become that he would have found a reason to live despite his heartbreak. It was tragic, and Draco felt a need to protect her, to shelter her from life's blows.

"You fear being your father's daughter?" Draco asked looking at her intently.

Leda looked up and returned his gaze without flinching. Their eyes locked. Draco's grey eyes bore holes into Leda's violet ones. He felt his heart race, his pulse quicken, and a warm feeling in the general area of his heart spread over his body. His mind and judgment clouded. She could have asked him anything in that moment, and he would have agreed to it. Surely, she felt something similar for holding his gaze for so long.

"I know I am my father's daughter. The day you stopped me from drowning myself in the black lake all but proved it. I understood then what my father must have felt. I understood the allure of ending it all, but you gave me a purpose which my father never had. My fear is not being strong enough."

"You think he was weak?"

"Don't you?"

If he were honest with himself, Draco would have said yes, but he knew that wasn't what Leda needed to hear. "Perhaps, but I know that you aren't. Your father was in love."

"You think love makes us weak?" Leda asked placing a hand on Draco's knee.

"Don't you?" He returned placing a hand over hers and using her own argument against her.

They looked at one another intently again without words. Leda softened her eyes and looked pointedly at him. It was like she was trying to communicate without words. Draco searched for the message with every ounce of his soul, but he found nothing in those startling beautiful eyes. A log on the fire broke their attention as it fell into a pile of red hot embers. They both jumped apart. Draco leaned back in the chair, and Leda leaned to the left far away from Draco. He could still fell the heat of her hand on his knee.

"You shouldn't tell me these things," he said recalling their situation.

"You are right," she replied with a slow nod. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"He would kill me if he knew about this," Draco continued suddenly needing to forge a gap as wide as possible between them.

"I would not let that happen." Leda took in a deep breath and then stood. "As it is, though, I won't trouble you again. I apologize for putting you in danger."

Leda walked away slowly towards the stairs that led to the girls dormitories deep below the black lake. Draco was torn as she moved away from him. He wanted desperately to run after her take her in his arms and comfort her. That would be unwise, however, and he restrained himself by gripping the armrests of his chair until his knuckles were white.

"Leda," he called after her before he could stop himself, "if things were different…"

"I know," she interrupted looking over her shoulder at him.

"You aren't anything like your family. You are," he paused searching for the right word, "better."

Draco couldn't be sure because of the dim lighting of the room this late at night, but he believed that Leda's eyes watered when he spoke. He did see her brush away something from her cheek could it have been a tear?

"Have you and your family received the invitation to my ball?" She asked after a brief pause.

Draco nodded still holding onto the chair in a death grip.

"Don't go," she said in a deeply serious tone.

"But I have to go."

She shook her head. "Do whatever you have to do to avoid it, Draco. Something terrible will happen that night. Lie, pretend to be sick, even risk your father's worst punishment. Do whatever is necessary to miss it. You should not be there."

"Why?" Draco asked as she began to retreat. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't want to see you there, Draco."

She disappeared down the stairs without a single glance behind her, and Draco stared into the dying flames in the fireplace. Her thoughts were all but destroyed by the ravishes of the most unstable element. Draco stared hard at the ash and embers that had once been her diary as if by staring he could read what she'd written. He gained a little insight into the complicated inner workings of the girl's mind and heart, but it was not enough. He wondered if it would ever be enough.

Every time he thought he began to understand Leda, she did something unexpected. She kept him on his toes, and while this had been entertaining in the beginning it was frustrating now. He couldn't even begin to understand her motivation in warning him from attending her Sang d'Immaculé.

He pushed aside all his other questions about the girl and focused on this one problem. Why did she warn him? She said something terrible was going to happen, but what could happen that was so bad with the entire elite wizarding society present? There were trained witches and wizards enough to protect themselves if there should be an attack, but who would dare. The Dark Lord would not attack his own people. Neither would the Ministry attempt anything when the majority of the guests present held the highest positions in their world. Draco had to dismiss Leda's warning as overly dramatic.

What if it weren't, though? He couldn't for the life of him think of a time when she'd been dramatic for its own sake. No, she truly believed something terrible was going to happen. He could get out of it if he wanted. He knew enough tricks to persuade his mother and through her his father. Years of training had taught him how to bend their wills when he really wanted to do it. There was nothing her could do, however, to keep them attending without him. Could he really consider himself a dutiful son if he allowed them to go knowing they faced danger? No. Then there was Leda herself. Who would protect her? Not her awful grandmother certainly. His parents could look after themselves, but Leda needed him. Despite her warning, he made up his mind independently of any consideration beyond her safety. He would be there to look after her even though she was not…could not be his to protect.


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

After the usual rounds with his father and mother, Draco spotted Blaise and Theodore standing in a corner of the elegantly decorated ballroom of the Vieson mansion. They each held a delicate flute of amber-colored liquid which could have easily been grape juice as champagne. Knowing his fellow classmates, though, he guessed it was the latter of the two.

"Will you excuse me, Mother?"

Lucious was talking with one of his many acquaintances at the ministry about one of the many new propositions moving through that had Muggle interests at heart. Draco's mother stood silently watching with feigned interest as she hung on her husband's arm. She turned her attention to her son standing slightly behind her when he spoke.

"Of course, dear," she said with the trademark Malfoy smirk knowing that her son was dying to get away. "Stay out of trouble."

Draco turned and rolled his eyes when he knew his mother wouldn't see. It was a cursory warning that she always gave him when he separated from his parents at social events. It wasn't as though he wasn't already aware of the great weight resting on his shoulders to always represent the Malfoy name well. He'd been raised to comport himself with the utmost dignity and pride, but his mother insisted. He expected she would still be saying it to him with he was forty and had a wife hanging on his arm with children to instruct in the Malfoy way as well. Very irritating.

Draco was stopped by a waiter on his way towards his friends, and Draco without pausing to think grabbed a matching flute of bubbling liquid. He approached his friends with one hand holding the drink in salute and the other stowed into the pocket of his dress robes. Blasie and Theodore lifted their glasses in greeting as Draco joined them.

"So where's the guest of honor?" Blaise asked in his bored way.

Draco lifted an eyebrow in question as he sipped his drink. It was certainly not grape juice.

"Madame Vieson told my father that Leda was waiting upstairs to be presented once all the guests have arrived. Shouldn't be much longer. Everyone who's anyone is here from what I can tell."

"Mmm," Blaise nodded in agreement surveying the room lazily.

Draco took the chance as well to have a look around. The guest list was, indeed, the who's who of pure-blood society. All of the noble families of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales were present and accounted for. Draco was surprised to see, however, a few families from the continent there with their eligible sons in tow. For a farce of a mating ritual, this was a thorough charade. None but himself knew that no matter how much they might place one or other of their eligible sons in the path of Madame Vieson Leda would be promised to none of them. She was taken and spoken for. She was out of reach for them all.

As Draco finished his sweep of the room, he noticed a clump of Slytherin girls on the opposite side of the room making eyes at him, Blaise, and Theodore. This opportunity to shop around wasn't only for Leda's grandmother. It seemed the girls of their house would take advantage and try to hook an eligible bachelor for themselves. He was surprised to see Pansy among them wearing an emerald green dress which shouted, "I'm a Slytherin bride!" He shouldn't have been surprised to see her there despite her objections to the affair. It was another proof positive that she had no principles.

"My father practically drooled when we entered," Blaise said drawing Draco's attention to their group. "He knew that the Viesons were rich, but apparently wealth on this scale was even too much for him to imagine."

"They certainly are loaded, aren't they?" Theodore agreed with his charming lop-sided grin. "Mother had me preparing for tonight most of the day. I'm pretty sure I'd be their favorite child if I managed to catch Leda's and Madame Vieson's attention."

"Good luck doing that hanging around me," Blaise said with a mysterious chuckle. "You know the ladies flock to me, and their mothers love me just as much if not more."

It was in that minute when they both turned to Draco that he realized in their eyes, at least on some level, they were competing against one another for Leda's hand in marriage. They didn't know it was all pointless, but for a moment Draco forgot, too. What did he have that would set him apart from the rest of the pretty boys and pure-blood wizards? Blasie was tall, dark, and mysterious. Out of all the boys in their year he had the highest success rate with women and a list of conquests a mile long. Theodore was the youngest son of a fine family, but he was charming in his own way. He came across as sincere and honest. Draco suspected he had little trouble with the ladies. What set Draco Malfoy apart from the rest?

"I'm the Prince, so I suspect neither of you have much hope," he said boastfully hiding his insecurity. It was hard to be confident surround by the best and brightest of wizarding society.

"It seemed like for a while you already had gotten Leda's attention. What's happened between you?" Theodore asked as Blasie starting making eyes at some of the French witches whispering and giggling near the band who played light music to fill the holes in the small talk being had all around the room.

"I don't know what you mean," he lied.

"For most of the semester, you couldn't see one of you without the other, but you've barely talked the last few weeks."

Draco was spared the effort of making an explanation. The band signaled that an announcement was about to be made. All around them sons and daughters made their way away from their friends in search of their parents. It was customary in society for children to at least give the appearance of dutifulness.

"Show's about to start boys," Blaise said knocking back the reminder of his champagne and placing the empty glass on a sliver tray being carried by a servant.

Draco and Theodore raised their glasses at the same time. "Cheers," Draco said before knocking his own drink back.

"Good luck, boys," Theodore said placing his drink on the same platter along with Draco.

They separated each in a different direction. Draco found his parents in much the same place he left them. He took his place on his mother's right. Lucious gave him a warning look as the crowd pushed themselves to the perimeter of the ballroom. Madame Vieson moved from her position at the entrance of her home to just inside the ballroom. Apparently, all the guests had arrived.

Draco was glad that his family had a position towards the front of the crowd. He was able to see the old woman clearly as she stood in the center of the room with a sparkling smile plastered on her face. Servants closed the large doors behind her and the room fell silent.

Winifred Vieson was a product of the highest levels of breeding and good manners. She was an emblem of their lifestyle. In a world where appearance means everything, Madame Vieson had kept up her appearance amazingly well. She was between the ages of sixty and seventy at least, but her figure and face belied that fact. Not a wrinkle was to be found on her milky white skin, not a single white hair was out of place of its complicated style, and not a stitch was wasted on her elegant red dress. Standing among the greenery that adorned her lavish and expensive home she looked like Christmas.

"Friends and guests, I welcome you," she began in a perfectly modulated voice to be heard throughout the room without seeming to shout. "It is such a rare occasion that we are allowed to gather as one and enjoy the one another. It is a pleasure indescribable to stand before you all, see your faces, and call you friend.

"I already have had the opportunity to greet you all personally, but I wish to welcome you again to my home. Thank you for being here to celebrate a most special time in my granddaughter's life. Some of you have known my granddaughter many years, but some of you will be meeting her for the first time…"

Draco had heard many speeches in his life having been raised in a society of people who as a rule enjoyed hearing themselves talk. It appeared that Madame Vieson was another victim of this vice. Her talk was sentimental and entertaining, but Draco knew enough to know that it was all a lie. He watched as she told a personal story without emotion chosen only because it demonstrated Leda's eligibility as a possible wife to the many men in the room. Draco felt his blood grow cold as Leda was unashamedly displayed for all present as potential wife, daughter, and sister. Draco looked around the room at all the eager and, in some cases, drooling parents present. It was sick what they did to their children.

"It is my greatest privilege to introduce to you all," the woman's speech cut into Draco's wandering thoughts like a hot knife, "my granddaughter, Leda Winifred Verity Vieson."

The doors behind her swung open slowly as Madame Vieson moved to the outskirts of the crowd allowing Leda the grand entrance her grandmother's long speech had prefaced. The lights in the foyer had been extinguished casting the figure standing there in shadow as the doors opened. Leda didn't move until that action had been completed.

Draco felt the tension build in the room and resisted the urge to stand on tiptoe as some did around him to see better as Leda slowly walked forward into the room. He suddenly felt an extreme desire to know what she looked like tonight and what dress she would be wearing. He wanted to see her and appreciate the beauty he knew would be on full display tonight. He's caught glimpses of it before, but tonight there was no hiding place for Leda to retreat to when she didn't want anyone to be seen. That was, in fact, the entire point.

Her steps were measured and deliberately slow to fan the crowds waiting excitement into a blaze. Finally she stepped into the light, and a collective gasp of pleasure was heard from the crowd. She was the epitome of youthful beauty, and no one, not even Pansy Parkinson, could be able to diminish her effect on them. Something so pure and beautiful could only be appreciated.

Draco recognized the dress at once. It was one of the ones he favored. It was simple but effective in displaying her finer attributes. It was a flowing purple-blueish dress that was reminiscent of a Greek toga. The fabric swept across her body and slipped over one delicate alabaster shoulder. A belt in the matching fabric was tastefully tied around her waist giving the dress both shape and accentuating her womanly curves. Her beautiful blonde hair was curled in lose ringlets and arranged atop her head with ribbon that carefully matched the dress wrapped around her head. She wore little jewelry only teardrop earrings and a large cocktail ring. It was a clear display of taste and wealth without being showy like some other females had done in the room. In a word, she was perfect.

The room seemed as stunned and absorbed as Draco. It was customary that a young lady being presented was greeted by applause, but the room was silent as she made her way to the center of the room. Someone must have woken up enough to realize the group was being rude and began applauding. The rest followed until a roar of approval greeted the young lady now standing nervously before them all. Her eyes scanned the crowd looking for someone.

Draco clapped lazily as he stared unblinking at his friend, the woman who he now couldn't deny had stolen his heart. She seemed to be drawn to his intense gaze as her eyes landed on him suddenly. They widened in surprise, but her pleasant smile didn't waver. If Draco had been lying to himself about his feelings for Leda, he would lie to himself no longer. He loved her despite everything, and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to take her from all these people who only gawked harshly and judged her worth on her physical attributes. He wanted her for himself. He wanted to take her away and give her the gentle life she deserved rather the tough one she'd been given. He had the strangest desire to wrap himself around her and protect her from the gaze and ridicule of others. He _wanted_ her.

"Does she please you?" His mother asked as the applause began to die down.

The band began to strike up a dance tune, and it was clear that someone must step forward to claim the first dance of Leda. Draco did not answer his mother as his feet without any direction from his brain stepped towards her. Before he knew what was happening, Draco bowed before Leda and held out a hand for hers.

"May I have this dance, Leda Vieson?" He asked formally.

She did not answer. Her hand slipped into his as she curtseyed. He quickly placed his other hand on her waist, and she rested hers on his shoulder before he led her into the dance. For all Draco knew or cared, there was no one there but them. It was as though the entire universe had shrunk down to just the two of them. Her lips cracked from their pleasantly content smile to a real smile of happiness. Her violet eyes sparkled and Draco's heart fell into his stomach. No, that was not right. His heart was no longer inside his body. Leda held it in her eyes and smile.

The crowd admired the young couple for half of the song. To many it made perfect sense. Draco was the brightest and most promising young wizard of them all, and seeing the girl in his arms seemed natural almost practiced, though that could not be the case. They would make beautiful blonde children some with their mother's unusual eye color and most with their father's steely grey. In coloring and build the couple seemed made for each other, so, yes, it made sense that a few of the families would withdraw their hopes after that first dance.

Soon young people and adults alike began to join in the dance. It wasn't until people surrounded them that Draco dared speak. "'Eda, you look…beautiful."

Leda's face fell instantly. She looked over Draco's shoulder into the crowd watching from the outskirts of the room. Something there must have alarmed her, and Draco felt a panic build inside his chest. Why did he have to speak? It had been foolish to break the spell.

"I told you not to come," she said in a dark voice still looking over his shoulder searching for someone. Then she looked up at him suddenly. "Why did you come?"

"I would not have missed this," he squeezed her waist with his hand gently, "for the world."

"Stop it, Draco!" She hit his shoulder discreetly. "Stop that right now! This isn't a game."

"I'm not playing with you."

Leda's anger dissipated with his honest reply, and she was quiet for a few moments. He stared into her eyes lingeringly hoping she would see what he felt—would feel it, too.

"You should not have come. I did not want you here. Why did it have to be _you_ that stepped forward? I knew some stupid boy would, but why did it have to be _you_?"

"What are you on about?" Draco snapped a little hurt by her rambling. He faltered a step and the hitch in their movement reflected it. "If you didn't want to dance with me, you could have refused."

"And have you hate me for embarrassing you in front of everyone, I don't think so. I've been spurned enough by you."

"Leda, about that—"

He wanted to explain how things stood between them now, but Leda interrupted him.

"Don't, Draco. It doesn't matter. We don't have much time, and I need to tell you to hear what I have to say."

She looked over his shoulder again refusing to speak. What was she looking at or for? Who was so damned important that she couldn't focus on him for more than a few seconds?

"Listen, Draco, _he's _here!" She said so quietly that no one dancing nearby could hear her.

"Who?" He asked ducking his head to hear her better.

She stepped towards him so that there was barely space between them as the first song ended and another song, slower this time, began. Draco instinctively moved his hand from her waist to her lower back.

"Voldemort is here," she said in his ear. "No one must know what I'm telling you, so put on the Malfoy charm and pretend I'm whispering sweet nothings in your ear."

Draco's first reaction to Leda's announcement was to pale in fear, but he quickly did as she instructed and plastered the Malfoy smirk on his face.

"I don't know how much time I have before he'll interrupt our dance. He was supposed to dance the first dance with me. I was instructed to turn down any that dared encroach on his right, but I couldn't turn you down, Draco."

Leda let her hand on his shoulder slip up until she reached the back of his neck. He felt her fingers toy with the fringe of his silvery blonde hair almost the same shade as her own hair. He was conflicted. Part of him wanted to enjoy the action, but fear overpowered any enjoyment he could take in her words or actions. Then a thought crossed his mind.

"How can he be here? People would recognize him if he displayed himself so publically. I mean, yes, most of the people here are his followers already, but even the Ministry would hear about it if he just appeared."

"He's in disguise, Draco. No one will know who he is unless he wants them to know. Now, you must listen before our time runs out," she was speaking quickly as though she already felt the impending arrival of a disturber. "At some point this evening, I don't know when, I will be asked to sing. You must not listen to me."

"Sing? I didn't know you could sing. I'm sure it can't be that bad," he joked weakly feeling overwhelmed by her urgency as he lead her around the dance floor once more.

"Draco!" She snapped in his ear and cupped his neck with her hand forcefully jerking his head slightly. "Listen to me. You cannot hear what I sing. Do you understand? Plug your ears, leave the room, and don't come back until it's over. I don't want you hurt. You have to listen to me this time. Got it? Got _it_!"

"I understand, 'Eda. I've got it," he whispered back in her ear rubbing soothing circles on her back with his thumb. She was a bundle of tense nerves barely able to follow his lead.

"Don't let them see what you're doing. If they know I warned you, we're both in trouble. You have to promise me, though, on everything you hold dear to save yourself. Promise," she pleaded in a strained whisper.

"I promise," Draco just managed to get out when a voice stopped them.

"May I cut in?" A man with a silky smooth voice, dark hair and the face on an angel asked bowing with a hand outstretched.

Technically, to refuse would be a severe breach of protocol, but Draco did think about it. Leda's terrified looked and shake of her head forced him to place her small soft hand into the palm of the other. He stepped away gentlemanly as she curtseyed accepting the new man as her partner. Draco backed away watching them as they joined the dance. Leda looked at him over the man's shoulder. That look spoke louder than anything else she'd said. _I couldn't turn you down, and I don't want you hurt_, her words danced around in his mind.


	10. Chapter 10

Ten

It was Draco's duty to dance with as many girls as possible that night. This was not only an opportunity to secure the hand of one girl. Many family alliances would be forged by this great meeting of the powerful and wealthy. His mother and father, though, would be his guide to whom he would be socializing. This was the reason that he returned to his mother's side when his usurper supplanted his role in Leda's arms.

His mother and father kept him busy for several hours until the band had to take a break for their own sakes as well as for the dancers. Everyone was run off their feet, and when the band stopped playing music Draco saw many people gratefully take seats in the chairs lining the large room. He was tired himself, but he resisted the urge to take a seat allowing the women to rest first.

Leda was sitting on the opposite side of the room from where he stood and nearer to the band. He stood with Theodore who'd come to his side when the band had moved off the little stage they'd been playing on for so long. He could see her clearly, though, when her grandmother approached her and spoke with a stern face. Leda darted a glance at Draco before nodding submissively to her grandmother. He knew something was up.

Draco and Theodore stood close to a glass door that'd been opened while the dancers had been busy at their trade. The cool December air rushed into the hot ballroom and refreshed the dancers now breaking for a slight respite. Draco didn't hear what Theodore was saying to him. His eyes and ears were trained on Madame Vieson as she approached the abandoned piano.

"My friends," she said loudly enough to be heard over the subdued chatter of the crowd. "While we regain our strength for more pleasantries, Leda has agreed to sing for you all."

The woman moved to the piano bench and took her place gracefully as Leda stood and moved to the instrument.

"Excuse me, Nott," Draco said in the middle of his dorm mate's comment. "I have to find a loo."

Without further explanation, Draco slipped out into the night air and plugged his fingers in his ears after seeing that no one else had found shelter outside. He could faintly hear music coming from inside, but he shoved his fingers into his ears further and gritted his teeth as he looked for a place to hide. He knew that if anyone checked his appearance would give him and Leda away. He didn't want her warning to land her in trouble.

Draco found a large terracotta pot that he could just wedge himself behind which held a carefully maintained topiary. He slipped down the wall and curled his legs to his chest so that no one could see him if they checked. It was awkward and cramped, but for his promise to Leda he would stay there.

As time slowly ticked away, Draco began to wonder how he would know when things were over…when it would be safe to return. Leda hadn't said anything about that. He could remove his fingers from his ears to see if she still sung, but that was a risk he knew she would not abide him taking. He might hear the applause that was sure to follow or feel its thunder in the ground. He couldn't be sure, though. He'd have to wait and hope he wouldn't be too precipitate in returning to the ball.

Draco waited about half an hour when he saw two figures emerge from the ballroom from doors further down the ballroom from him. In the soft glow of a full moon, Draco recognized that dress, and felt certain it was safe to remove his fingers from his ears. The couple moved towards him and stopped in full view illuminated by the moon's rays. Draco removed his fingers from his ears slowly. He was completely cast in shadow and hidden from view, but if he made a sudden movement the couple would know they were not alone.

Draco recognized the man with Leda as the gentleman who had interrupted his second dance with the girl. Draco's blood drained from his face as they paused by the railing of the terrace and stood very close to one another. To an untrained eye the couple could have looked like clandestine lovers. Draco knew better, and their words confirmed his assessment.

"…will be my queen, Leda. You will do my bidding and tip the balance of this war in my favor. With you, I am assured of victory."

The Dark Lord's words were not a lover's vow, but a dictator's order.

"There's no guarantee that I can do what you ask, and even if I could it would kill me," Leda replied in a neutral voice.

"You've just proved you can do it, my queen. Three hundred and you're barely tired," the man took hold of arm and shook it forcefully in his excitement.

"Three hundred _willing_," she said snatching her arm away from his grasp. "What you want is impossible…my lord."

She was defiant and cross with him. Draco was secretly proud of her for standing her ground, but it was dangerous move and very unwise. If she tempted the Dark Lord's anger, she might end up on the receiving end of a nasty curse.

"Impossible?" He returned with a sadistic smirk. "I think not, my pet. You've just proved that all you require is time and development. I will have to put your talents to use sooner than we planned if all is found to be well."

"I did what you asked of me. Of _that_ you can be sure," Leda replied in a sad voice.

"We shall see. You have pleased me exceedingly tonight."

Draco had to clench his fists and jaw to keep from exposing himself when the Dark Lord reached up to caress Leda's soft cheek. He held his breath to keep the huff in his chest from revealing his whereabouts, but he had to fight hard to keep his satisfaction down when Leda turned her head away from his touch defiantly.

"Remember who _I_ am?" He said forcing her to look at him by gripping her roughly under her chin. "Remember! I will make you pay for your defiance, and I know just who to use to punish you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leda said in a hostile voice.

_Tone it down, 'Eda_, Draco thought nervously.

"Malfoy may be one of my best men, but I'll rip every hair from his son's head and more if you don't do as I say."

"Why should I care?" She replied flippantly. "I don't care anything about him."

Ouch. That hurt.

"Oh, you're wrong about that. I think you care a very great deal about him," he said pushing his face ever closer to hers making Draco nervous.

"Don't you dare touch him, or I'll sing _you_ a song," she said threateningly.

Rather than get angrier at her nerve, Draco was surprised when the Dark Lord began to laugh. It was a cold, heartless laugh that started deep in his chest and flowed into your bones making them rattle.

"You are _mine_, Leda. The sooner you accept that the better for everyone."

They stared off for a long time. Leda gazed back defiantly until the last while the Dark Lord ruthlessly threatened her with his eyes. After the lost pause in Draco's life, Leda backed down and averted her eyes downward submissively. She missed the Dark Lord's satisfied, chilling smile, but Draco didn't. Thankfully, he was gone shortly after Leda's defeat.

Leda seemed to fold into herself after the Dark Lord was gone. Draco realized it had all been a front. She'd pretended to be fine when she was exhausted. She nearly collapsed onto the railing before Draco could manage to procure himself from his hiding place. He rushed to her unworried about the consequences.

"Draco, what—"

She began to ask him something when he reached her, but when he grabbed her arms to help support her flagging strength she fell into his arms. He didn't hear the rest of her question as her face was pressed into his chest. She wasn't heavy, but her dead weight was cumbersome. He managed to alter their arrangement enough so that she wasn't suffocating on his shirt.

"Are you you? Did you hear me sing?" She asked worriedly when he'd fixed this problem.

"I have no idea if you're an alto or a soprano," he relied with his usual smirk.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked as he surveyed the area for a place to sit and found a bench nearby.

"Following orders. I came out to hide like you told me. I was behind that pot over there," he tilted his head in the direction of his hiding place.

He leaned forward and scooped Leda into his arms. She gasped in alarm and surprise, but was mercifully quiet. All they needed was someone to find them like this. He was certain to be killed then.

"What are you doing?" She protested weakly.

"You need to rest. You're exhausted."

"I'm fine," she protested. "Put me down, please."

Draco had reached the bench and deposited her on it gently. He took a seat beside her, but grabbed her hand despite her efforts to evade him.

"You don't have to pretend with me," Draco said gently putting his arm around her to keep her warm from the cool air and to reinforce his words. "I'm not _him_. You're weak and need to rest."

"Did you hear everything?" She asked leaning into him.

"Pretty much," he answered honestly. "I have some questions."

"Of course, but I can't answer them now. My grandmother will be along soon when she realizes I'm not with him."

Draco nodded to the darkness accepting that once again he would be left with unanswered questions but trusting that he would have his answers soon enough. She hadn't denied them to him. She'd only delayed them

"You need to take it easy around him, 'Eda," he said in a quiet voice. "His anger is terrible."

Leda tried to laugh, but it came out as a strangled chuckle instead. There was only one. "Are you afraid of him hurting you?"

"No," Draco answered automatically. "I'm worried about him hurting you."

"Don't worry about me," she huffed weakly. "He's not going to kill me. He needs me too badly."

"I didn't say I was worried about him killing you. There's a lot of pain between where you are now and death. That's what I fear for you."

They sat in silence for a long time until Leda had gained some of her strength back. She pushed away from Draco's warming arm and told him how to sneak back to the crowd before sending him away. He'd just managed to sneak into the shadows when Madame Vieson appeared to usher her granddaughter back inside.

Leda had instructed Draco to find the study further down the terrace away from the ballroom. He could slip inside there and make his way back to the ball as though he really had found a loo. It would also keep any from even wondering if he'd been out on the terrace at the same time as Leda and the Dark Lord.

It was a good plan, and Draco followed it carefully. He found the dark study and slipped inside noiselessly. Candles around the room lit when he entered allowing him to find his way to the door which would lead to the foyer. He pressed his ear to the wood. It was a precaution. If someone saw him sneaking out of the study at this hour, there would be questions about it later. He heard nothing, so Draco took the chance and opened the door a crack. All was clear from his line of vision. He swung the door open, slipped out, and shut the door quickly in barely the space of a heart beat. He couldn't look around to make sure he was clear as that would appear suspicious, so he took confident strides back to the ball.

"Mr. Malfoy, a minute if you will," a deep voice from behind Draco called.

He froze and tried to still his beating heart unsuccessfully. Draco was very familiar with that voice he heard it for hours at a time in Potions.

"Professor," Draco greeted as Snape came around him, "I didn't know you were here. I've not seen you all night."

"No, of course, you wouldn't," Snape said suspiciously, "being yourself so fully occupied by your parents."

"According to mother," Draco shrugged understanding what his favorite professor meant, "it's never too early to start thinking about the future."

"Indeed," Snape said in his usual slow drawl as he assessed the boy.

Draco knew that his professor was skilled at Legilimency, but his aunt Bella had taught him a thing or two about hiding his thoughts from those who would seek information that way. Draco refused to allow Snape to look him directly in the eye and hid everything that had happened since he'd told Theodore he was going to find a loo. He couldn't be sure if it worked or not, though. Snape's lips were pursed in displeasure that was certain. Was it from learning what he knew or because he couldn't?

"You heard Miss Vieson's performance, of course," his professor said finally.

"I listened to the beginning before I came looking for a loo," Draco lied.

Did he imagine the glint in Snape's eyes?

"What did you think?"

"She's an excellent singer, Sir."

Snape glared at Draco for a long moment, and he suspected he'd answered incorrectly. Would Leda's warning and his obedience be discovered?

"Very good," Snape said dismissively. "I'm sure your parents are wondering where you are."

"Good evening, Sir," Draco returned politely before nearly running back to the ball.

What had he done?


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Alright, my readers, where are you? I'm hearing very little from you, and so I'm wondering if this story is stinking things up. Hopefully, this much longer chapter will redeem me, but if the plot or writing isn't satisfactory I need to know. If I don't hear from you soon, I may be forced to abandon this story to move onto hopefully better things. Let me know how I'm doing.**

* * *

Eleven

It was the first day of classes back at Hogwarts, and Draco was extremely tired. It was as though some sort of switch had been set off in all of his professors' minds once they'd come back from the holidays. They were piling on the homework and talking twice as fast in class trying to squeeze in every bit of information they could before the fifth year students took their O.W.L.s. It was exhausting, and Draco stumbled forward wearily towards his Potions Professor's office that evening.

He had received an unexpected summons to that professor's office at breakfast that morning. Draco thought little of it as the day passed, but after dinner he longed for bed. Rather than seeking the comfort of sleep, Draco had to face Snape and then tackle the mountain of homework waiting as yet left undone. It was with weary body and mind that Draco found himself the unexpected listener of a private conversation.

"It was inexcusable," Snape scolded in firm but dark tones. "What if I had not been the one to question him? The Dark Lord gave strict instructions that everyone was supposed to have heard you."

Draco flattened himself against the wall and approached the doorway silently. He was able to see Leda standing with head held high staring down their obviously angry professor who was red-faced and practically foaming at the mouth.

"I know better than you what Voldemort's instructions were," Leda returned sharply.

"Insolent girl! Are you bent on seeing him killed? What if it had been one of the others that found out what you did?"

"As it was, sir, you were the one who discovered it. No harm came of it," she returned in a respectful voice.

"You could have gotten him killed! It was an extremely dangerous and foolish thing to do. I have no choice but to report this to the Headmaster."

"Tell Dumbledore! See if I care if he knows!" Leda exclaimed with sudden force. She realized her fervor and quickly subdued her voice. "Pardon me, _Professor_," it was said as more of a curse than a sign of respect, "but it's Dumbledore's fault that I was forced to go through with it at all."

"Do not question the Headmaster's strategies. You were fully aware what the possible consequences of your actions could be. It was better to do this than openly oppose the Dark Lord."

"When I signed up for this, I thought I would be opposing the Dark Lord openly or secretly, but so far it only seems like I'm being forced to support him."

Snape slammed his hand on his desk making Leda and Draco both jump. "We are not here to discuss Dumbledore's plans. You're actions the night of the ball are in question not the Headmaster's."

"And if I hadn't warned him, sir? What then? Would you prefer that he's a mindless drone in _his_ army? Would you have him tainted by the evilness of this war?"

"Yes," Snape snapped back quickly pounding his hand on his desk. "It would mean his life was not in danger."

"You care nothing about his life! His life is in danger whether we would wish it so or not!"

"What do you know about life or death?" Snape returned in a louder voice.

"I know," Leda shouted back, "that life isn't life if you're forced to live a lie! This isn't what he believes! He's a good person! And I would have him remain that way. He deserves that much, at least, from both of us."

Draco had a sneaking suspicion that the "he" they kept referring to was him. So Snape had known somehow that he hadn't been present when Leda had sung. He knew that she'd warned him, but what difference did it make. What was so awful about her singing that would induce her to warn him of the catastrophe and then incite such rage in their Potions professor? What had happened that night?

When Draco returned to the ball, everyone seemed normal. No one acted strangely around him even his parents who he was with for the remainder of the holidays. It had been a little odd the way that everyone was looking at Leda in their house on the train back to school and now that classes had begun. He couldn't names the gleam in their eyes, but it was slightly unsettling. Stranger still was the complete acceptance he now felt for Leda. No one questioned her, and no one made snide remarks as they'd done before the holidays. Even Pansy was now on her best behavior around the girl. It was all very odd.

"Stupid girl!" Snape shouted louder yet and beat his fists into his desk. "Admit that you were wrong!"

"Never!"

The room was silent, and Draco had to check and make sure that Snape hadn't killed Leda in his rage silently. Snape's face was nearly purple as he stared off with the girl, but she held her ground. Her chin was lifted defiantly, and her hands were clenched in tiny white fists. Snape leaned forward on his hands over the desk ready to pounce on his student, but something held him back.

After a long space of silence, Leda spoke. "Draco isn't tangled up in this web yet, and I wanted, more than I've ever wanted anything, for him to be safe. He doesn't have to be trapped in all of this like we are. He's still free to walk away, and I only wanted to keep it that way."

Draco was surprised that this seemed to work on their professor. Draco watched as his anger faded and his face softened. He pressed himself quickly to the wall when his professor's eyes cut to the cracked doorway.

"Mr. Malfoy was supposed to meet me here tonight. He should be along soon enough," Draco heard him say as he slipped down the corridor away from the door before affecting his usual step and headed back to the door.

Draco knocked on the door without hesitation when he approached it, and his professor shouted a sullen, "Enter." Leda was not surprised to see him when he slipped inside, and if he hadn't overheard their earlier conversation Draco wouldn't have noticed the tension between the two.

"You asked me to meet you here, Sir?" Draco questioned uncertainly lifting his eyebrows at Leda. He had to act as though he hadn't expected her to be there.

"Yes, Draco, it has come to my attention that you may not have heard Miss Vieson's performance over the holidays."

Draco looked to Leda questioningly still pretending he didn't already know that the jig was up.

"You don't have to lie. I've already confessed," she said gently.

"No, I didn't hear her sing," he said firmly to their professor.

"Indeed," Snape said more to himself than for Leda and Draco. "No one must know that fact. To that end I'm prepared to offer you private lessons in Occlumency, so that no one can pry the truth from your mind. You will meet me here every Tuesday and Thursday night for your lessons."

"But, sir, I've already been taught," Draco protested heart fluttering at the thought of more work in the coming term on top of everything else.

"The basics, yes, but you will require more training if you wish to remain undiscovered. If you are not willing to undergo these lessons, then Miss Vieson can sing for you again right now."

Draco caught Leda pleading with him out of the corner of his eye. So many questions ran through his head. Why was it so important that he not hear Leda sing? Why did the Dark Lord seem so bent on it? What were Snape's motives in all of this? What were Leda's?

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't understand the importance of hearing her sing."

Snape cut his eyes quickly to Leda, and Draco hoped for a brief moment that he was going to explain all of this. His hope was quickly dashed, though.

"An explanation will have to come from Miss Vieson. You will accept these lessons, Draco, or she will sing."

Draco looked at Leda who was practically begging

"Yes, Sir. I'll be here tomorrow night, then."

With Draco's agreement, Snape dismissed them to their common room, and Leda led the way out. In the corridor Leda was silent as Draco stared at her from behind mind reeling with all the questions. As they passed an empty classroom, Draco acted without thinking. He grabbed Leda's hand and pulled her into the dark space shutting the door behind them.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Leda asked in the complete darkness.

"_Lumos!_" He uttered to his wand which illuminated the darkness filling the space between their bodies. "I want those answers. I think I deserve to know the truth of what's going on now that I have extra lessons with everything else added on."

"You're right, of course," she sighed pulling her hand from his and reaching for her own wand.

She surveyed the deserted room after it was lit. There was no one and nothing around but used desks and chairs covered in a thick layer of dust mixed with the natural moisture in the air in the dungeons. It lay like a thick paste over everything. Leda cleaned off a desktop with her wand and jumped to sit on it.

"What do you want to know?" She asked folding her hands in her lap with her lit wand lying at her side on the desk.

"Everything," Draco replied taking a seat beside Leda as she prepared to pour out her heart to him.

She did tell him everything going back all the way to the beginning. Leda had deliberately misled Draco when she'd told him the story about her parents before the Christmas holidays. She had allowed him to assume that her mother was simply a common witch or muggle that her father had met on his travels. The truth horrified him and made his soul freeze.

Leda's father had heard of a venture of wizards planning to travel the world in search of new magical creatures and undiscovered plants. They chose to travel by ship as it was the best way to ensure they would have plenty of storage for their collections. Leda's father convinced them to let him come by helping to fund over half of the costs of the journey. For about six months, he journeyed with them writing letters home of the fantastic things he was seeing and helping to discover then, in January, the ship journey to the south-western part of Italy's coast.

"That's when it happened," Leda said in a quiet voice.

"What?"

"That's when my father met my mother."

One night as the men were resting on board their ship from an exhausting day searching the waters for rare sea creatures and plants Leda's father heard a beautiful song over the clam waters. He was only the first on the ship, and soon all members of the expedition were pressed against the railing closest to the source of the song. The song drove them mad, and they steered their ship towards the rocky coast on an unsafe course. The only thought that drove them was the need to find the source of the haunting song.

"Their desire was their doom. The ship and all aboard were destroyed…except one. I've seen pictures of my father, and he was a beautiful man. I favor him. We have the same nose," she said tapping that fine attribute, "the same complexion, and the same chin. His attractiveness was both his salvation and his curse. My mother spared his life."

Draco felt uneasy. It was too simple to believe that Leda's mother was an Italian witch who found Leda's father washed up on the shore, so he felt compelled to ask. "Who is your mother, Leda?"

She sighed softly and looked down at her clasped hands lying in her lap. She refused to look up when she answered, "My mother is the siren, Ligeia."

The room was deathly silent as Leda admitted her parentage, and Draco could have easily been knocked off the desk with a slight nudge. He never thought it was possible for him to be more shocked by anything after Leda had confided her engagement with the Dark Lord, but, of everything he could have imagined, this was unthinkable.

"That's impossible. The sirens only kill. How could you possibly the daughter of a siren?"

Leda scoffed with an ironic smile. "The same way you're the son of your parents, I imagine."

Draco didn't want to think about that. Yes, he knew his parents in theory must have had sex. His existence proved that, but thinking about it ever happening was disturbing to say the least. He liked to lie to himself and believe that his parents were celibate even though he knew that was certainly the case.

"So you're a half-breed?"

"You don't have to say it as though I'm worse than a muggle," Leda rebutted more than a little offended.

Draco was deep in his own thoughts, but the tenor of Leda's voice shook him from his thoughts soon enough for him to understand his mistake. "No! I didn't mean it like that. I was just thinking out loud. It's a lot of process."

Leda crossed her arms over her chest and humped indignantly. "Well, I tried to warn you not to get involved with me. Any other boy with a brain would have steered cleared after that first threat to your person."

"What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment."

Leda didn't have anything to say about that, and Draco could tell she was still angry with him. He wracked his brain trying to think of something to say that would make her feel better.

"Listen, 'Eda, I'm really sorry it sounded like I was judging you. I was only thinking it was kind of cool that you were a half-breed like me."

Leda cut her eyes at Draco dangerously warning him he wasn't clear yet. "What do you mean?"

"My great-grandmother on my father's side was Veela," Draco admitted handing over one of the greatest Malfoy family secrets. "Promise not to tell anyone, though, it could ruin our family."

Leda narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Draco for a long while thinking over his confession. "I guess it does make sense."

"What?"

"That you're part Veela."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, you're father is a very handsome wizard, and you look just like him."

Draco tried to suppress his smile and satisfaction at the back-handed compliment. If she thought his father was handsome, that meant she thought he was handsome. Draco knew that he was attractive, of course, but hearing it from Leda made his stomach react in curious ways. Suddenly, Draco didn't care about who Leda's mother was or that she was promised to the most powerful dark wizard in the world. All he cared about was that he loved her, and it must be unconditional love. If it wasn't, he would have run screaming from the room ages ago.

Leda must have understood the course of his thoughts, because she stopped him when he opened his mouth to declare himself. "Don't, Draco. I shouldn't have said that."

"I didn't mind," he interjected with a smirk.

Leda gave him a warning glare for his cheek before continuing, "I haven't told you everything yet."

Draco settled himself down to listen as Leda continued explaining.

She told him that the sirens used their gift of song to lure men to their deaths on the rocky shoreline of their home. Sailors know to steer clear of that area, because no one—man, woman, or child—can resist the persuasion of their song. Draco lifted his eyebrows in surprise when Leda told him that sirens had the ability to control anyone that hears them sing to make them do whatever they want. Usually, it is steer their ships to their deaths, because the sirens are evil and thrive off of death and destruction. On occasion, though, the sirens will use their song to seduce a human male who pleases them. This was how Leda came into being. There had only been a few cases of children being produced of such unions, and Leda's father was the only man she'd found in all the research she'd done over the years on the matter that was allowed to go free.

"I don't know why my mother didn't kill him when she tired of him. I don't know if my father escaped by some miracle or if my mother let him go. I don't why she gave me up after I was born to be raised by my father's family. All I know is that it all happened that way, and you know the rest of the story."

Draco nodded. "I do, so skip over the next part and continue. I assume the Vieson wealth isn't the only reason the Dark Lord wants you for his bride."

"No," Leda agreed crestfallen. "My grandmother knew I would have the same ability to control the minds of those I sing. She also knew that Voldemort would be very interested in collecting my talents. She contact him after my father's funeral hoping that he would take the baby she hated so much off her hands. Voldemort was in no way prepared to be looking after a baby, but he saw an opportunity.

"He saw in me the best weapon against the Ministry and Dumbledore. When I was old enough, I could sing to them, to everyone, and all the protesters would take his side. There would be no more war only success. He would control us all, every single person, through me. An opportunity like that he couldn't possibly turn down, so he agreed to take me when I was of age. My grandmother," Leda scoffed disdainfully, "would only agree to his taking me if he married me on some moral whim of hers."

"And so he agreed," Draco sighed when it was obvious Leda was finished.

"As I said, I'm an opportunity he couldn't possibly turn down."

"So the night of the ball…" Draco allowed his question to fall away unasked. He wasn't sure he wanted the answers.

"I sang," Leda nodded slowly with an expression akin to shame on her lovely features.

"What did you do?"

The unspoken accusation between them forced Leda t jump from her seat grabbing her wand as her feet landed on the stone floor. "I did was I was ordered to do, Draco, nothing less."

Draco couldn't ask, and Leda must have known that he was unable to articulate what he needed to know. She wrapped her arms around her as though feeling the chill in the castle for the first time. She walked towards the other side of the room speaking with her back to Draco unable to face him.

"I took away their choice. I made them loyal to _him_. Every single person in that ballroom when I sang will die for his cause if he demanded it. They all know about me that I'm to be Voldemort's bride, and they were all forced to accept me."

"That's not so bad." Draco sighed with relief.

"Not so bad!" He tensed at Leda's angry reaction. "I took away their free will, Draco. I took any resistance they may have had to the Dark Lord away from them and made them his followers. What I wouldn't give to take it back, but I can't."

"It's not so bad, really, 'Eda. There were only a handful of people there who weren't already willing to follow him. That handful would have ended up on his side with threatening, so in the end you really didn't do much harm there except save them a few unforgivable curses. As for the other, everyone was already eating out of your hand that night. They would have all sworn their allegiance to you then and there if asked."

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, but I'll never forgive myself for what I did. I won't forgive him or Dumbledore for it either."

"Dumbledore? What's he got to do with it?"

Leda had been pacing like a dangerously trapped animal while explaining what she'd done. At Draco's question, she stopped and looked at him in frustration. "It'd be better for you not to know."

"Listen, Leda," Draco said firmly pushing himself off of the desk, "I'm already way in over my head here. I should know everything so that I know how to stay alive."

Leda nodded after a long moment's hesitation. "I went to Dumbledore after our chat by the lake and told him everything. I told him what I was capable of doing and what the Dark Lord had ordered me to do."

"So you're on Dumbledore's side?"

Leda shook her head and shrugged. "He's the only one who's opposing Voldemort. I'm with whoever is against _him_."

Draco was quiet for a long time.

"Why?" He asked at last in softly it was barely above a whisper. "Why did you risk your life to warn me?"

Leda stopped her pacing again and looked Draco in the eye with a startled expression. "I…I don't know. It was an impulse. I didn't mean to do it that night in the common room. It just sort slipped out."

Draco moved across the room and grabbed Leda's hand before she could escape him. He stood so close to her that Leda had to angle her head back to look him in the eye, and he refused to back down.

"You do know why, 'Eda," he said in his most persuasive voice. "Tell me the truth."

Leda opened her mouth to reply several times, but something prevented her from uttering a word. Each time she closed her mouth in defeat until she looked down unable to look into Draco's searching eyes. He could see what he wanted to hear so clearly in her misty lilac eyes, but wanted so desperately to hear what he saw there.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I can't."

"Well, if you won't then I will."

"No, please, don't."

"I love you, Leda Vieson," he blurted out ignoring her protest and gaining her attention as he eyes darted back to his face. "I don't care what or who you are. I don't care what you've done or who you're supposed to marry. All I care about is that you make me happy, and I think, sometimes, I make you happy, as well. That's all that matters."

"No, Draco, it isn't," she protested weakly trying to pull her hand free.

He wasn't having it. "Yes, it is! All there is to the world is just you and me. The rest is unimportant. I think I've loved you since the moment I first danced with you…"

"That was just my dress for the ball and all the hype of the evening," Leda interrupted trying again to free herself.

Draco shook his head, "No. I meant that day in Hogsmead. If I was honest with myself, though, I think you had me the moment you first pointed your wand at me and threatened to make me a fatherless bastard."

Draco watched Leda's face intently trying to find a trace of her feelings there, so he didn't miss the slight lift of one corner of her mouth at his admission. He couldn't help the smile that sprang to his own lips.

"Tell me that you feel the same way," he pleaded squeezing her hand in expectation.

"I…I…" Leda looked desperately at Draco and shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry. I can't do that."

"What?" Draco's face fell instantly. "You can't mean that?"

Leda's face went stony as she yanked her hand free from Draco's loosened grip. "Believe it or not, Draco Malfoy, not every girl falls under your spell."

"Stop that! I don't believe you. I've seen it in your eyes. You care about me, too!"

"You're my friend that's all."

"No, it isn't!" Draco said stepping forward and grabbing Leda's shoulders. "Tell me you don't love me! Tell me!"

Draco in his excitement had shaken Leda several times, and he stopped himself waiting for Leda's reply.

"I don't love you," she said in a cold voice.

Draco's mind didn't want to believe her. She had to care. Everything contradicted her statement, but his heart believed. His felt it shatter inside of chest. He let his arms drop heavily to his sides, and he turned away from her unable to look at her anymore.

"Go," he exclaimed in a voice filled with emotion.

"Draco," a little voice pleaded.

"Go, please!" He shouted at the wall.

"_Nox!_"

Draco counted to ten and then turned around. Leda was gone. "_Nox!_"


	12. Chapter 12

Twelve

Draco rounded the corner and pushed himself against the wall as he waited with held breath. He listened carefully for any footsteps, anything that would lead him to believe someone was following him. There was nothing, and so he continued onward. He repeated this several times not out of suspicion but out of caution. He couldn't be seen or followed. What he was doing was too dangerous to risk being discovered. It was a familiar routine to him now as he'd done it dozens of times since the beginning of the new school year. Slip into shadows, wait until it was safe, and then continue. He could probably do it in his sleep by now.

Draco didn't really breathe a sigh of relief until he reached the seventh floor corridor. He shook his head as he walked up it once. He wished he could have known how this room worked last year while he worked for Umbridge on the Inquisitorial Squad. Things would have turned out very different if he'd managed to catch Potter and his stupid followers. His father might not be sitting in Azkaban that very moment if he'd been a little quicker.

He ran his hands through his lengthening blonde hair, a habit of frustration, as he walked back the way he'd come. In a matter of months everything had changed. His father was imprisoned now all because of four eyes, his Weasels, his Mudblood, that oak Longbottom, and Looney Lovegood. They were the reason Draco's mother cried at the drop of a hat in private and stood steely and depressed in public. It was their fault that he'd been forced by his aunt to take the Dark Mark and accept the Dark Lord's task. It was their fault that Draco was probably going to be murdered after being tortured a very long, long time.

Draco pocketed his hands in his robes as made the final pass in front of the Room of Requirement. He waited for the familiar door to appear as he meditated on the hopelessness of this plan. Two months! Two months he'd been working on repairing the Vanishing Cabinet here at Hogwarts after spending all summer studying the one in Borgin and Burkes and pouring over countless texts on the matter. Two months and he was no closer to finding a solution. Two months and he was already receiving threats from the Dark Lord.

He had to laugh at the situation or he would have cried. It was ridiculous really. Only ten months ago, Leda had opened his eyes to the cruelty of everything he believed in. He wished to Merlin that his eyes had remained shut, but he began to think very dangerous things. He began to wish for a different way of life. He didn't want what Dumbledore and his Mudblood loving followers want, but he didn't want the darkness of _his_ world either. Draco began to understand what Leda had said that afternoon by the lake. He wanted the freedom to make his own path.

Then everything at the Ministry of Magic happened. He was at school depressed but surviving his heart ache when Snape woke him up early one morning and took Draco to his office. In his professor's unique way, Draco was given the bad news, and the world beneath Draco's feet was pulled from under him for a second time. He went home that summer to a defeated mother, and an aunt bent on restoring the Malfoy name and honor.

Suddenly, Draco understood exactly how Leda had felt, trapped and forced to accept the will of others as your own. He'd had no choice. It was either accept the Dark Mark and quest that went with it or be killed. The only thought which kept him from running from his fate was his mother. Narcissa had been crushed by the imprisonment of her husband, and her son was certain that if he abandoned her, too, she wouldn't survive it even with Aunt Bella's "help." So he had knelt before the Dark Lord trying hard to keep from cringing at the sight of his ghastly, snake face and taken it.

Leda had been there standing at the Dark Lord's side. Draco was surprised when he was led into the room by his aunt and found her there for all intents and purposes taking her place as the future Dark Lady. Not even a flicker of recognition crossed her face as he approached the Dark Couple. That didn't surprise him. His reaction, though, did. He didn't know what he expected but seeing her there gave him a ridiculous hope. She had done a lot to keep him from this before. Perhaps she would save him now. She kept her eyes level before her as Draco's arm was burned by the black ink. She didn't say a word as Draco made the vows and agreed to his task. She hadn't protested as Draco wanted. She hadn't done a thing to save him.

He knew she wouldn't, of course, but some deeply suppressed part of himself had thought that maybe…It was the part that still loved her despite his steps to move on. Oh, he'd done everything to forget her. He'd had lovers, many lovers, and he'd tried to throw his mind into his work. When that didn't help, Draco had a bottle of fire whiskey in his trunk that he would drink from until he passed out. He had thought by the time he took his place among Voldemort's Death Eaters that he was over her. How wrong he had been!

Rather than purge her from his body, it seemed Leda had slipped into his soul far deeper than anything else. Her complete lack of acknowledgment and inaction hurt him more than anything he'd felt before. She didn't care. He was certain of that, and his heart wrung itself until it was nothing more than a twisted knot inside his chest. He was a broken man trapped in a life that he didn't want. Trapped like a bird in a cage.

The door to the Room of Requirement finally appeared, and Draco slipped inside quickly. He leaned against the disappearing door and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands in despair. What was he doing? He was never going to figure out how the kill Dumbledore and sneak in Voldemort's Death Eaters. Why did he even try? He was only going to be killed in any case. If Voldemort didn't get his hands on him, then Potter was sure to. The stupid git was always lurking about accusing Draco of everything that went wrong in the castle. It wouldn't be long before he challenged him to a proper duel, not like the one Draco had challenged him to in their first year.

"It's about time you showed up," an annoyed voice said from deeper inside the room.

Draco stood straight at the sound of that all too familiar voice. It couldn't be. Why was she here? Draco lowered his hand from his eyes slowly to find Leda seated on the edge of a scratched and nearly broken table. She was lovely and cold, grace and stone. She was…unexpected.

After her parting words in January, Leda had not spoken again to Draco except for the handful of words she was forced to share with him in public. Leda had avoided him for the rest of the term the year before, and Draco hadn't minded. He had desperately clung to the hope that he would forget her if he pretended she didn't exist. That had obviously not worked. The renewed pain his chest said as much as he looked at her again.

This was the first time he'd been alone with her in nearly ten months.

"What are you doing here?" He asked not bothering to hide his surprise.

"What! No, 'Hi, how are you?'"

"You haven't bothered. Why should I?" Draco asked in a hard tone pushing past her towards the Vanishing Cabinet.

"Indeed," Leda mumbled following him with her eyes and turning as he moved around her.

"I'll ask again. Why are you here?"

Draco didn't move to the cabinet immediately. He chose a broken globe, rather, to ponder while he waited for Leda to answer his question. There was no reason for him to give away his plan completely, though she did know where he was working.

"I was sent to help you." Draco looked at her over his shoulder and lifted an eyebrow in question. "The fiasco with the necklace was thought to be the action of a desperate man. The Dark Lord was concerned that you might not able to successfully complete the job."

"So you're here to threaten me, too?" He snapped turning to face his tormentor.

"No!" Leda cried rushing towards Draco. "No, I'm here to help you, Draco."

"I don't need your help," he retorted childishly.

"Your actions say otherwise," Leda returned placing her hands on her hips.

He could smell her perfume, a scent that had plagued his dreams. It was the soft smell of roses and a hint of lavender that he dreamed of every morning before he woke up. He could also see that she had lost weight and her skin was brittle and rough. She wasn't eating and sleeping well, he could tell. She was suffering every bit if not more than she was last year, but she remained cool and distanced from him.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" He asked testily.

"We both know that using the Imperious Curse on an innocent girl and instructing her to carry a cursed necklace to Dumbledore isn't one of your better plans. What were you thinking, Draco?" She asked in a too caring voice. "Even if Katie had gotten the necklace to the Headmaster, do you really believe he would be dumb enough to touch it without testing it for curses first?"

Draco ran his hands through his hair and sat down on a chair with no back. "I don't know what I thought. I had to do something, though. I've been receiving threats almost daily from the Dark Lord because I'm not making progress. I had to show him that I'm trying, really trying."

"We both know that wasn't a real effort," Leda replied in a disapproving tone. "Worse yet, Voldemort knows it was a half-hearted attempt. No, any more ideas like that and you'll get yourself thrown into Azkaban for certain. It's bad enough Potter is going around telling people that you're the one who was behind it. Thankfully, everyone just thinks he's mad and disregard it. Another incident like that, though, and you're in serious trouble."

"I don't need a lecture, thank you. I hear enough of it from Snape."

Leda didn't reply right away. She must have been taken aback by Draco's snide remark and the voice he'd delivered it in. He had been a bit harsh, but considering the pressure he was under and the fact that this was the girl who'd broken his heart he didn't feel too badly about it.

"And why haven't you accepted his offer of help? The Dark Lord wouldn't disapprove."

"This is my task!" Draco exclaimed. "And no one will take it from me."

Leda places her hand on her hips and braces herself for Draco's reaction when she speaks. "Too bad. I've been sent to help you, and you will include me in this venture whether you like it or not. I don't have to tell you what will happen if you try to refuse me."

"More threats," Draco sighed and pushed himself from his chair. "I get it. How did you find out where I was and when I'd be here?"

Leda smiled and shifted her weight to one foot. "It's pretty easy to get what you want out of Crabbe and Goyle with just a little flirting. That gave me the 'where.' Despite your actions with the necklace, I know you're a very smart wizard, so I asked myself when would be the best time to sneak away from everyone unnoticed. The answer was simple…when everyone was busy and distracted. What better night than Halloween? Everyone's preoccupied with the feast and won't notice that you're missing. Not even Potter would know you're gone."

Draco had to admit to himself that Leda was a brilliant woman. A pain in his chest caused him to shudder and gasp his chest at the thought. It physically hurt to think of her in anyway. The pain was worse the longer he was forced to be around her. How could he bare being around her so often if she was helping him with this mission?

"So what do I need to know? And how can I help?" She asked dropping her hands from her hips.

There was no refuting her despite Draco's burning desire to do just that. Draco explained quickly what his plan was and told her how he'd heard about the Vanishing Cabinet from Montague. Draco was the first person to realize that the one here at Hogwarts was connected to the Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes. He planned on using them to smuggle in the Death Eaters that the Dark Lord so desperately wanted inside the school and hoped that in the chaos from their appearance he'd get his crack at the Headmaster. While he explained this all to Leda, he moved to the broken cabinet and showed her how in theory it was supposed to work and then how it did, in fact, work now.

When Draco looked at her after exposing the inside and describing the magic behind the transportation he'd learned in his research, he found Leda standing with her arms crossed over her chest and shaking her head thoughtfully. "This is a plan worthy of you," she said when he gave her a questioning lift of his eyebrow, "and it may just work."

He hated himself for feeling gratified by her approval. He tried to press the good feeling out of his dark heart and refocus his attention to the problem at hand. He stepped away from the cabinet when Leda moved forward to examine the object herself, and he starred at her without focusing while her back was turned.

It was too much. He couldn't do this. Yes, he'd been given a mission by the Dark Lord, but never had there been a clause in the agreement that he'd have to work with Leda on it. He'd already spent hours upon hours studying. From Leda's own words he guessed that he was expected to share all the knowledge he'd careful filed away in his mind afraid to write anything down that could jeopardize his mission. It would take him weeks to catch her up, and in that time he would fall behind in his own work. This didn't matter as much to him except he didn't believe his heart could take the brutal beating of being with her alone so often.

He didn't have a choice in the matter. If it was the Dark Lord's will that she assist in Draco's plan, then he had to include her. Over the next month Draco and Leda met as often as they could to discuss the Vanishing Cabinets. After a couple of weeks, it was obviously that Leda was having a difficult time processing and remembering all the information. In the essence of saving time and his heart from complete destruction, Draco allowed Leda to take notes if she hid the parchment in the room well concealed from any who might visit by accident or on purpose. He made her promise to never take the papers outside of the Room of Requirement. Her progress moved steadily after his concession.

Torture wasn't a strong enough word to describe being trapped inside a room for hours on end with Leda. Secretly, Draco wondered if Leda's "assistance" was a form of punishment for his delay in figuring out how to accomplish all that the Dark Lord desired quickly enough. Draco couldn't let himself dwell too long on that possibility, because it led to questions about what would happen to him if he failed completely. It was impossibly painful to be in such close proximity, so maybe any further punishment wouldn't be as bad. Nothing could hurt more than living so closely to the one you loved who was completely out of reach.

Draco cursed himself silently while explaining the finer points of the charms placed on the cabinets that allowed a person to travel from one to the other. He told himself that he needed to get over her. She didn't love him, and he didn't want anything less. He knew now that friendship could never satisfy him. It would only hurt him further to be friendly with Leda and remind him that she wasn't a cold heartless bitch. He couldn't help but like her if they were on friendly terms. Liking her wasn't an option, so Draco maintained a cool distance from her never allowing her too close or allowing himself too much latitude.

Self preservation was the name of the game, and Draco had been playing it since birth.

Draco rubbed his eyes, a habit he'd picked up of late, as he sat back leaning against a broken bookcase opposing the broken Vanishing Cabinet. He ran through the spell for the millionth time in his head as Leda took notes not far away.

It had taken Leda only a couple of weeks to help him finish the calculations for the spell he'd been working on once he'd gotten her up to speed. It had put him well beyond schedule, however. It was mid-December and there was only a week until the Christmas holidays. He knew the Dark Lord would not be pleased that Draco hadn't even attempted to repair the cabinet once yet, but he comforted himself that if this spell didn't work Leda would be instrumental in moving forward with another one. With her help he could imagine, making five or six attempts in the next semester. He prayed that it wouldn't come to that.

"I think it's ready," he said in a tired voice dropping his hands to his lap.

Leda looked up from her notes with wide eyes. "I think so, too."

Draco sighed and forced himself to his feet wearily, "Let's try it, then."

"I don't think that would be wise. You're dead on your feet. This best way to see this spell fail is to try it when you're exhausted."

"I'm fine," Draco lied unconvincingly.

Leda stood and hid away her notes. "You're tired, Draco. You need sleep. It's late, and we should both be in bed. Besides it is dangerous enough performing simple spells this worn out. This is complicated magic and you could get yourself killed if you tried it tonight."

She was right, of course, but Draco longed so desperately to be done with this. He'd do what the Dark Lord ask and move on. He'd continue his life, get over Leda, and keep himself alive.

"Alright, let's do it this weekend."

Leda shook her head. "I'm behind on my homework, and I know you must be as well. It's going to take the entire weekend for me to catch up."

"Fine. I'll do it without you."

"You will not!" She protested in horror. "Someone needs to be here in case things go wrong, and I need to see with my own eyes what happens when you try it out in case it doesn't work. It'll have to wait until the holidays. It'll be safer to try it when there are fewer people around in any case."

"I don't have that long. The Dark Lord is waiting, and I'm not sure what he'll do if I don't do something soon."

Draco didn't even realize he'd put his hands into his hair and had begun pulling it until Leda approached quickly and grabbed his arms and pulled them away gently. "I know you're stressed and worried, Draco, but you're not the only one who's under pressure here. I'm right here with you, and whether you like it or not I share half of the burden with you. Alright?"

Leda spoke calmly and looked right into Draco's eyes forcing him to relax a little. He nodded when his moment of panic passed.

"I want to see this succeed just as much as you do, and the best case for us both is for this spell to work. We lessen the chances of that happening if we rush into it."

Draco nodded again as Leda released her hold of his wrists and stepped back. "Alright. What about the night before everyone leaves?"

"I can't—" Leda began, but Draco cut her off.

"Think about it! This could work. Everyone will be in their houses packing to go home the next day. Slughorn's having that stupid party. It's the perfect time to sneak back up here and try it out. And if it doesn't work, we won't be wasting a day of the holidays to do research and start over. We might even be able to give it another try before classes begin if we do it that night."

Draco had already consigned his fate to spend the holidays away from home. He went home for every holiday in the past, and this would be the first time he'd ever spent Christmas away from his family. Draco had already accepted that if he did go home he still wouldn't be with his family. How could he when his father was locked away in Azkaban and his mother walked around like a mindless lunatic only going through the motions of living? No, his time was better spent here figuring out how to make this cabinet work.

Draco didn't let himself think too long about what would happen if he succeeded with this spell the night before the train left for London. He could go home triumphant, give hope to his mother, and start thinking about how they were going to get his father out of prison. Draco couldn't linger on these thoughts too long, because disappointment was an emotion he couldn't handle if he failed.

As for Leda, if Draco was staying then she was staying to help him. It was as simple as that. He hadn't asked her to give up her holidays. He told her, and she hadn't complained.

"You're right, of course," Leda admitted unwillingly. "But I can't be here. I'm going to Slughorn's party."

"What?"

Draco had been starring at the cabinet as Leda spoke already planning his next move just in case it didn't work. Her final statement caught him off guard. When had old Slughorn recruited Leda into the Slug Club?

"Professor Slughorn invited me to the party, and it wasn't something I could get out of. Blaise and I are going together since he's forced to attend as well."

"You're in the Slug Club?" Draco asked puzzled.

Leda nodded.

"And you're going to the party with Zabini?"

Another nod. "But it's not what you think. We're only going together because I needed a safe date. Voldemort's eyes are everywhere, and I can't show up to an event with just any boy. It might raise questions."

Draco heard her words, and he knew there was a great deal of truth to them. However, it hurt to imagine anyone appearing anywhere with Leda as her date even if they were a "safe date." It wasn't easy but there were times when Draco could forget the Dark Lord, forget the threats hanging over his head in this room with Leda. During those fleeting and sparse moments, Draco would picture what things would be like between Leda and him if none of this stood between them. Would Leda come to love him? Would they have gotten married after an appropriate engagement after leaving school? Would they have had children? The course of his thoughts had led Draco to believe wrongly that he had some claim on her, and this was a sharp reminder that his delusions were just that…delusions.

"Questions, of course," he said when Leda starred at him with a worried expression obviously waiting for some reaction. "Do you think you could slip away for a bit that night?" He asked a plan forming in his mind already.


	13. Chapter 13

Thirteen

Draco was brilliant though he did say so himself.

He consulted his watch, folded the newspaper he'd been reading, and let his feet drop off of the coffee table and onto the floor loudly. Crabbe and Goyle looked up from their game of exploding snap curiously.

"Where you going, Draco?" Goyle asked throwing down a card which thankfully didn't explode.

"Need us to come with?" Crabbe asked without looking up from his inspection of the card.

"I've got a 'study' date, boys, in the stacks of the library," Draco gave them a significant look as he collected his bag, "if you know what I mean."

The two goons chuckled and leered provocatively picking up the tenor of Draco's message easily. It was about all they got easily.

"I think I can handle this one on my own."

"Who is it this time?" Goyle asked with interest.

It was pathetic how many sordid details his friends wanted. Crabbe and Goyle would hang onto every word like Draco's stories were water and they were lost in the desert. Draco assumed they were interested because they couldn't get any action themselves. And who wouldn't believe that? They were great, fat, stupid oafs better equipped as bodyguards than as lovers. Draco imagined they would be terrible with any girl desperate enough to give them a try. Those thoughts were disturbing, so he pushed them aside.

"An innocent little Hufflepuff," Draco lied moving towards the one exit from the common room. "Innocents are the only way to go don't you know," he called over his shoulder.

He caught his two friends nodding in agreement before he escaped to the corridor outside their common room. What did they know about the matter? He scoffed to himself and rolled his eyes. They would be lucky to get laid before they turned thirty which made him question how their fathers were able to get married, because Crabbe and Goyle were the spitting images of their fathers. It creeped him out to think of it, so he ignored his thoughts and proceeded upstairs.

Around the same time Draco was leaving the Slytherin common room, Leda placed her glass on a passing serving tray and turned to her date with an innocent expression.

"Will you excuse me, Blaise? I need to find the restroom."

"Of course," her handsome date responded with a deferential nod of the head.

Leda still had trouble accepting the respect that went along with being the future queen of an empire, but she tried to take it in stride. She headed towards the door when Filch burst into the room pulling a reluctant student in after him by the arm.

"Let me go!" The student shouted causing the entire room to turn and stare.

Leda recognized Draco before he spoke, but unlike her peers she hedged her way closer to the door and further from the action. She could not be seen or connected to the boy as he was forced towards Slughorn who stood speaking with one of his many former favorites.

"Professor Slughorn," Filch began in a too happy voice, "I caught this student lurking in the corridors just outside your party."

"Well, what have you to say about it?" Slughorn asked Draco obviously annoyed that someone had the nerve to ruin his party.

"I was not lurking anywhere! I was on my way to the library," Draco lied.

"Come on, Draco," Leda mumbled under her breath. "You've got to do better than that."

"You're a fine student, Mr. Malfoy, but you can't really expect me to believe that, can you? It's the night before holidays. I find it unlikely anyone is studying tonight."

Draco glared hatefully at his potions professor, and Leda worried that he was in serious trouble until Snape stepped forward.

"I think it's obvious what's going on here," he said looking down his nose at Draco still held at bay by Filch's grasp. "Mr. Malfoy wasn't invited and obviously meant to join in with the festivities."

_That's good. Go with that,_ Leda pleaded silently. Everyone present could easily accept it. They didn't know Draco like she did, and they would believe that the Slytherin Prince tried to crash the party because he wasn't invited, that he felt slighted not having been asked to join the Slug Club.

Leda held her breath until Draco dropped his eyes and head in a clear sign that Snape's hypothesis had been correct. It was expertly played by both parties, and only someone who knew the truth would have questioned it.

"What did you want me to do with him?" Filch asked obviously hoping for some severe punishment.

"I'll show him out," Snape said before Slughorn spoke.

Snape motioned for Draco to lead the way with his hand, but Filch didn't release Draco's arm from his grip until Slughorn nodded. Draco jerked his arm away angrily and gave the old caretaker a dirty look as he straightened his robes and turned to the door.

Leda tried to press herself into the wall so that Draco wouldn't see her, but he looked up unexpectedly when he reached the door. He saw her clearly, but no show of it crossed his face. Snape opened the door, and they were gone.

It took a few seconds for the party to swing back to life, and Leda took the opportunity to run through her options quickly. It was obvious the jig was up. Draco had been caught, and there was an unspoken rule between them that if caught they would avoid the Room of Requirement for a little while. Leda knew how determined Draco was to try out his spell, and how bad had it been really? Snape had covered it up well. Did anyone suspect?

Leda surveyed the room and saw Potter eyeing the door. He always suspected where Draco was concerned. Blaise caught her eye and she smile nicely and pointed to the door while mouthing, _I haven't been._ He nodded and returned to his conversation while Leda slipped out having had her decision made for her.

She found a hiding place just outside the door, and predictably Potter followed soon after and moved quickly in the direction Snape and Draco would have most likely taken. Leda was better at stalking someone than he was, and he didn't notice her following him. If Snape and Draco hadn't been so concerned, with their conversation they would have heart Potter's clumsy steps in the corridor outside of the classroom they'd gone to.

Leda heard the two men inside, but she didn't listen to what was said. She could guess by the growling volume of the conversation inside the classroom. Leda pulled out her wand and whispered as she aimed at the boy listening to the conversation, "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

Potter didn't know what hit him, and Leda laughed cruelly as she moved towards him. "Professor Snape! Draco! You might want to see this," she shouted as she stood over the panicking form of The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Snoop.

She hadn't needed to call to them, because Snape had heard Potter's body thump heavily onto the stone floor. Leda wished she had a camera to snap a shot of his and Draco's faces when they appeared at the doorway.

"You seem to enjoy this position, Potter," Draco remarked with his typical smirk once he'd gotten over his surprise.

Snape looked at Leda for an explanation.

"I was heading back to the party from the restroom when I saw Potter lurking out here in the corridor. I knew he was listening to your obviously private conversation and used a full body bind to catch him off guard."

"Very good, Miss Vieson," Snape says drawing out his wand and point it at the boy on the ground. "_Finite__!_ Come with me, Potter."

The stupid boy began to stir slowly and then rose from his position on the floor. He tried to say something in his defense, but their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would hear none of it. Snape ushered him towards the dungeons conceivably to give out the other boy detention. Leda and Draco watched silently as the other two whisked away.

"Return to your common room," Snape said looking over his shoulder at Draco, "and I expect you to get back to the party, Miss Vieson. Potter will be returning himself in about half an hour."

Leda and Draco nodded until Snape was out of sight. They understood him perfectly.

"How long was four-eyes outside the door?" Draco asked turning in the opposite direction of the Slytherin common room.

"Not long," Leda replied falling into step beside him. "What did he hear?"

"Not much. I knew Snape must know what I was up to, so I kept up the story that I was trying to sneak into the party just in case."

"Good," Leda nodded. "No harm done, then."

It was beyond perfect actually. Stupid Potter had been caught red-handed spying on Draco, had gotten detention for sure, and gotten nothing out of it that would be useful to him. Leda was going to have to have a word with Dumbledore about the git. If Potter screwed things up, she would personally use the killing curse on him. She didn't care if he was The Chosen One or not.

Snape had obviously left them to proceed with whatever they had planned. It would have been all too easy to escort Draco downstairs along with Potter, but he'd left him and Leda at the entrance to the empty classroom. He'd ordered Leda back to the party but had subtlety given her a time frame of half an hour to get back before Potter. If she wasn't there when he got back, Leda could almost guarantee he would start following her like he'd done to Draco all semester. That was all she needed, another complication in life.

"What you said to Potter," Leda broached as they took the stairs so quickly she had to lift the hem of her dress so that her legs wouldn't become tangled up. "What did you mean by it?"

"The stupid git was spying on me on the train ride here. When everyone had gone, I used the same curse to stun him out of hiding, smashed his nose in for my father, and then used his invisibility cloak to hide him on the train."

Leda threw her head back and laughed in delight as Draco explained. She let her dress fall into place just below her knees and grasped the closest thing for support. It just so happened that was Draco's shoulder.

"That's the best thing I've heard in a long time," Leda said regaining her composure as they moved along. "I wondered why he showed up to the welcoming feast with a bloody nose."

"I was hoping he wouldn't be found until the train was back in London, but I'm guessing one of the Aurors they've got swarming the school found him." Leda had a beautiful smile on her face and shook her head in pleasure as they quickly moved down the corridor to the next set of stairs. "I thought you and Pot Mark were on the same side."

Leda's smile faded quickly and she glanced suspiciously at Draco from the corner of her eye. Draco realized he'd begun to understand what her subtle facial expressions and body language meant. She was worried he was trying to trap her.

From her point of view, he could understand where she was coming from. He was an initiated Death Eater now. She couldn't know that it was something he'd been forced to do by his aunt. With everything he ever said to her on the subject she had every reason to believe that he was a loyal member of Voldemort's army. It still hurt, though, to know that she didn't understand him completely.

"If I were going to rat you out, I would have done it already," he pointed out.

Leda didn't say anything as they mounted another flight of stairs, and she nodded at last before speaking. Draco knew she trusted him to some degree.

"I told you once that I'm not on anyone's side. I just choose to work with whoever is against _him_. Unfortunately, that means I'm technically allied with Potter now, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing him get what he deserves."

"Why do you hate him?"

"Don't we all in Slytherin?" Leda shrugged.

"Not like this. It's personal with you not principle."

They reached the seventh floor corridor. Draco paused and turned to Leda rather than open the door to the Room of Requirement. Leda's face was a swirl of emotions. Each different subtle expression and shift of her face expressed something different, but they were so fleeting that Draco couldn't register what they were.

"Time's running out. We've got to try out this spell," she reminded him laying a stone mask over her face.

She was right, and they quickly made their way inside. Leda took her position behind an old desk that would provide shelter if things went badly but that allowed her to observe everything. Draco pulled out his wand and began the incantation.

The air around him tingled with the familiar sensation of magic circling around him. Then as the incantation was finished he felt a surge and then nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"What happened? Did it work?" Leda asked from her shelter.

"I don't know."

Leda came out from her hiding place as Draco approached the cabinet. He opened the door and peered inside. Nothing had changed as far as he could tell.

"Let's try it," Leda said tossing in an old textbook when Draco made way for her.

He closed the door and they waited. Nothing.

Leda opened the door to the cabinet, and as expected the book was still there. She pulled it out and let it drop to the floor with a disgusted look on her face.

"Let me try the spell," she said pulling out her wand.

"No, it could be dangerous," Draco protested weakly.

"Don't be silly. You just proved it was safe."

Draco couldn't argue, so he stepped aside forgoing the shelter of the desk. Leda was right. The spell was perfectly safe. He observed Leda with an appreciative eye as she began the incantation.

She was wearing a beautiful green satin dress with matching shoes. It was the exact shade of green as their house color, and Draco presumed she'd chosen it to remind everyone that she was the future Slytherin queen. He preferred to see her wearing her signature color, but this was his second favorite. The dress was fairly simple with spaghetti straps, empire waistline, and pleated skirt, but it was pretty. Leda wore her hair straight for once with half her hair pinned back with a matching green, satin bow.

Leda finished the spell with similar results, and Draco felt ill with dread. He'd known it was a long shot that he'd ever be able to pull this off, but with Leda's help he'd begun to have hope. That hope was dashed roughly by their first failed attempt.

Leda only had time to offer Draco a sympathetic look before running back to the party. Draco slumped to the floor when she'd gone, and he didn't leave the room except for to occasionally sleep and showers.


	14. Chapter 14

Fourteen

"Wakey, wakey," Leda whispered gently over Draco's sleeping form.

He simply moaned lightly and pulled his cloak up tighter under his chin. Leda sighed, shook her head, and laid her basket filled with Christmas morning goodies on the floor nearby. He'd slept in the Room of Requirement again. He must have been up late again working furiously on the next spell they would try as it was late in the morning. Leda had already been up for a few hours enough to dress, open her few presents, and sneak down to the kitchens gathering food for them both.

She hated to wake him, but it was Christmas after all. Neither of them had anyone else to share the holiday with, and she felt it was right that he spend one day in a sort of normalcy. Even if he refused to leave the room she was determined to provide some sort of celebration for the day. She wouldn't let him work on the Vanishing Cabinet for this one day at least.

He needed the break as much if not more than she did. She could see the effect the stress and constant work clearly in him as he slept. Dark circles were forming under his eyes. He was losing weight from skipping meals and only picking at his meals when he did happen to show up. His hair was lanky and lacked its normal shine. Yet, in his sleep, Leda could still see the boy trapped inside.

"Draco!" She shouted suddenly chapping her hands loudly. "Happy Christmas!"

At the sound of his name being shouted, Draco jerked up from his pathetic bed confused by the sudden disruption of his sleep. He'd found an old loveseat that was sorely worn and barely comfortable enough to sleep on. He'd made do, though, by sticking the exposed springs back down and pressing his knees nearly to his chest under his school cloak. It wasn't ideal, but it had been enough at the time.

Draco began to question the prudence of spending the night here as he sat up and dropped his legs to the floor. Sharp pain in his knees and back helped wake him up completely. He pressed and one hand to his lower back and the other rubbed his knee as the cloak fell to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a thick voice.

"I might ask you the same question. I'm here to make sure you don't waste the day."

"You could've at least given me a few more hours of sleep before making me get back to work," he complained rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning.

"No. No working on the cabinet today. You're taking the day off. It's Christmas after all."

"But—"

"No, buts, Draco. One day isn't going to make that big a difference, and you and I both need a rest. Now come and have breakfast with me before all the food is cold."

Leda moved to the basket and knelt down on the floor. She began pulling out the food, plates and utensils as Draco slowly stood and straightened his body after hours of being cramped up on that couch. He was still in a great deal of pain, but he managed to fold himself to the floor and accepted the plate of food Leda handed him which was piled high with his favorite foods.

"We're not moving until you eat all of that food if I have to use a sticking charm to keep you there," she said in a bossy voice while filling her plate with food as well.

"I'll eat mine if you eat yours."

"Deal."

And that's what they did. For two people who'd not had much to eat for the past few months, it took a while to finish their plates. Draco was surprised by how good the food was and how hungry he suddenly felt. He even went for seconds. Leda, however, finished her smaller plate of food slowly and didn't even consider eating a single bite more.

"So what's next?" Draco asked as he tucked into his second portion of eggs and toast.

Leda was clearing away the dishes primly hold up each dish for Draco's approval or disapproval before stowing it back into the basket. She held up the last bit of bacon, and he shook his head that he didn't want any more. "Well, I think a bath is in order for you, so we can go down to your dorm let you open your presents while I draw you one. After that we both could use some fresh air, and it's a beautiful day."

And that's what they did. Stiffly Draco went down to Slytherin house with Leda leading the way. She had no reservations about heading down the stairs to the boys' dorms, and so Draco didn't make a big deal out of it. She left him to the mountain of presents piled at the foot of his bed to start the bath she'd promised him.

Draco got his usual haul that morning. New clothes, candy, the entire stock of Zonko products, a new chess set, several books about Qudditich, and a bottle of Firewhiskey from his aunt Bella. It was pretty standard for him, and he tossed the last present aside thoughtlessly as he tossed the wrapping paper into the trash bin near his bed.

Leda had his bath ready for him when he finished. The bath water was warm enough to ease his aching muscles, but cool enough not to scald his sensitive flesh. How did Leda manage to balance it so perfectly? As he sank into the water a soothing scent filled his nostrils. Whatever it was, it was added to the water by Leda for his own benefit. He relaxed in the water until it began to chill and reluctantly pulled himself out of it, dressed, and dried his hair before going upstairs to the common room.

Leda was waiting with her warmest boots, jacket, and hat. They enjoyed the afternoon, as it was late morning when Leda woke him up, walking around the grounds and chatting about harmless non-Vanishing-Cabinet stuff. Leda scooped up some snow and made a snowball behind Draco's back. He didn't know what she was planning until it, the snowball, literally hit him. An hour long snowball fight ensued.

It was a good day. Draco didn't think about Voldemort, his mission, or his fate almost the entire day. Draco had submitted to Leda's orders initially out of an unwillingness to waste energy fighting with her, but as the day went on he found it comforting. She was taking care of him in a way that vaguely reminded him of his mother when he was little. It was a nice feeling, being taken care of.

They joined the small number of students at the Christmas Day feast for dinner but mostly kept to themselves as there weren't any Slytherins their age left at school. After dinner they sat relaxing by the fire in the best seats of the Slytherin common room. There were three first years sitting there when they entered, but Draco's determined glare and Leda's disdainful look convinced them that relocation was in their best interest.

When their conversation lulled, Draco observed Leda carefully before asking her a question that had come to mind earlier in the mind but that he'd not dwelt on too long. "I have a question for you," he announced suddenly.

"Shoot," Leda said curling her feet up under her.

"Why was it okay for us to be seen together today?"

It was a fair question. Ever since their public break last year, they'd not had anything to do with one another. Draco had wondered what had changed.

"I haven't had a change of heart, Draco, if that's what you want to know. It's Christmas, and I didn't want to spend it alone. You shouldn't either. There's no one really here that can get word back that we were seen together, so I figured today was as safe a day as any."

"And that's all? You just didn't want to be alone?"

Draco watched her face carefully. He saw an expression there that contradicted her cold reply as he'd seen and heard her do on many occasions. He didn't know what to make of it.

"That's all," she answered.

"You know sometimes I get the feeling you say one thing and mean another completely."

Leda laughed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it? Your words say one thing, but you're face, your eyes say another."

"You're wrong," Leda said with a barely perceptible nod.

"See! That there," Draco accused half jumping from his seat. "You nodded when you should have shaken your head."

"No, I didn't." Another nod.

Was it code?

"You did it again!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Leda did shake her head this time and laid her head back on the couch tiredly. "Stop fooling around."

"You didn't get me anything for Christmas," he stated thinking of another route.

Leda's head shot up and she gave him a half-annoyed, half-angry look. "What do you call dragging you out of that cursed room?"

Draco shook his head. "Doesn't count. You've said you only did it to avoid being alone, so it was a selfish act."

Leda rolled her eyes and let her head fall back again. "Fine. I'll get you something really nice for your birthday."

"Why bother when you can give me something now?" Draco said in his most charming voice.

"What?" Leda groaned.

"Give me an hour of complete honesty. Answer any question I ask with the complete truth."

"No."

"Come on, 'Eda," Draco whined. "Please?"

A slight hesitation. "No."

"Okay. What if I give you an hour of complete honesty? What if I ask you a question, you answer honestly, then ask me a question, and I give you a truthful answer in return? I'll answer any question."

A long pause. "Why?"

"Humor me," Draco said sarcastically. "I'm curious."

"It's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"You know why!" Leda exclaimed quietly lifting her head at last. "The truth is too dangerous. We can't afford truth when every memory, every word, and ever action is scrutinized. It's too risky."

"I don't care anymore, Leda," Draco said in a defeated voice. "I'm going to die anyways. We're never going to figure out how to repair that cabinet, and there's no other way to get the others into the school. I'm going to fail and be punished. I've accepted that fact."

"It's not a fact! Using the cabinets is a brilliant idea. Who else would have thought of it? No one. And we're going to figure how to repair the cabinet. I know we will."

"Four months, Leda! It took me four months to accomplish absolutely nothing. If I had all the time in the world, then, yes, I would agree with you, but I don't. I have no time. He's going to kill me."

"Not if I have anything to do with it. You've got me now. We'll figure this out."

Draco and Leda stared at one another with equally determined expressions. Then, Draco had an idea, a change of tactic.

"My point is that we're both walking a thin line here. We are both privy to sensitive information, and it might help to share what we know. It might raise our chances of surviving."

Leda was quiet and thoughtful for a long time. Draco had learned that sometimes the best argument was silence. He knew that she was a thinker and that she was his best ally in convincing herself to give in. It tried his patience, but it paid off this time at least.

"Alright. One hour."

"Excellent," Draco said with a charming smile.

He was about to launch into his first question when Leda stopped him. "But I don't think we should do it here. Ears are everywhere," she said glancing at the group of younger students playing a loud game of exploding snap on the other side of the common room.

Thus far their conversation had been fairly private, but it wasn't completely safe. Draco nodded and stood. "Come with me." He led the way back down to his dorm without checking to see if Leda followed. He didn't need to.

With the others gone for the holidays, Draco had had the dorm to himself which had been a luxury he'd enjoyed thoroughly. It was almost being back home with no one watching him every minute, no one there asking to follow him around, and no one there to make sure he was on his best behavior. He could do and say whatever he liked, and Draco had always enjoyed such liberties.

Leda pushed aside his jumble of presents aside and sat at the foot of his bed. He chose his desk chair and sat in it backwards allowing his arms to rest on the backrest. He looked at her expectantly while she crossed her legs and looked at her watch.

"Your hour starts now."

"Ladies first," he said gallantly resting his chin on his folded arms.

"Why did you become a Death Eater?" Leda asked without pausing to think.

"Wow!" Draco exclaimed sitting up straighten. "No, warming me up, eh? Just right down to it."

"An hour will go by quickly," Leda reminded him.

"Alright, then," Draco sighed and ran his hands through his hair nervously. "I did it because my aunt Bella told me to. I assume you know what happened at the Ministry." Leda nodded once. "She told me it was the only way to save our family name, and so I agreed to help my father and mother."

"Do you—"

"My turn," Draco interrupted holding up a finger to stop Leda. He paused to think of his question. Unlike Leda, he had so many that he wasn't sure which one to ask first. "Do you say one thing and mean another like with the nodding and denials earlier?"

Leda pressed her lips together before admitting, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Not yet. It's my turn. Did you and do you still want to be a Death Eater?"

"Before I met you, the answer would've been yes. Now, I don't. No. Why do you say one thing and mean another?"

That's how it went for forty-five minutes. They careful posed and answered questions. They each reminded the other when it was their turn to ask a question when they'd get excited and try to ask two in a row. They both seemed to understand that this conversation was important to themselves and each other, and so they both clearly asked and answered questions in an almost formal and impersonal way. Draco even found that if he said it correctly it was as though he were talking about someone apart from himself. It made it easier to talk about his feelings when he pretended it was someone else.

In that time, Leda asked him extensively about his motivation in joining Voldemort's army. She managed to tear from him is true feelings for the Dark Lord, and he admitted for the first time to any human being the thoughts he'd only begun to acknowledge in himself. He admitted that he didn't really care that much about blood status that he would prefer to live his life without all this mess. He confided the trapped feeling he experienced and that he'd love nothing better than to be free to make his own choices. It was dangerous, but there wasn't anyone he'd trust more than Leda.

With his questions, Draco was able to ascertain that Leda was as trapped if not more so than he was. He knew this already, but it began to make sense to him. She desperately wanted to be his friend, to go back to the way things had been last year, but for his own safety she couldn't get close. He began to understand that her coolness and distance was meant to keep him safe. The unspoken message he read in her answers was that she was overwhelmingly concerned for him, and that begged the question of why to be asked. Draco felt he knew the answer, but it still had to be asked. He knew from the moment he proposed this exchange what his last question would be. It was only a matter of time.

"Alright this is my last question," she announced as their time drew short. "If you don't agree with Voldemort and his followers and if you want to be free to live your own life, would you consider joining Dumbledore and fight against him? I'm living proof that you don't have to agree with everything he does, but you have to admit he's the only person brave enough to make a stand against _him_."

"I don't know. The answer would depend on your answer to my next question."

Leda frowned sternly. "That's not how it works, Draco. I ask a question and you have to answer. Then you get your turn."

"Then my answer is that I truly don't know one way or the other. I understand your position and agree with the majority of it, but I can't see myself on the same side as Potter facing off against my aunt, my mother, and my father. I don't know."

Leda seemed to deflate at Draco's brutally honest question. "Fair enough. What's your question?"

Draco took a deep breath before asking slowly, "Did you lie to me last year when you said that you didn't love me?"

Draco was watching her carefully as he asked the question. Leda had been studying the floor, but her eyes popped up to meet his own quickly when he'd finished. Her impossibly pale skin faded a few shades lighter. Her rosy lips looked chalky, and Draco knew he'd asked her the one question she desperately wanted to avoid answering. He'd trapped her just as she'd done to him that day in Hogsmead, and she knew it.

Leda's lips parted slowly as though she were going to answer, but no sound came out. "You have to answer," Draco urged figuratively sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Yes, I was lying to protect you. If the Dark Lord ever entered your mind and saw that memory, I wanted to protect you from the punishment that would have followed if I'd admitted my feelings."

Draco slumped forward resting his elbows on the back of his chair again. He was overwhelmed by the emotions and thoughts filling his mind and heart. He'd always known she loved him. He knew that now. He'd known in his heart that she cared even though his mind had succeeded very cleverly in telling him otherwise. That was why he wasn't able to move on despite his best efforts. He'd known then when she'd broken his heart as he did now that she loved him. An incredible joy overpowered every other thought and feeling.

"One more question, please," Leda begged. Draco nodded unable to articulate words. "Why did the answer to my other question depend on that answer?"

Draco didn't have to think. "Because now I would do anything you asked of me."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I'm sorry, my lovelies, for being so tardy in getting this chapter up. The holiday season caught up with me, and I'm counting on the good will of the season to bestow forgiveness on me. Enjoy!

Fifteen

Draco looked up from his stack of morning mail and glanced at Leda sitting down from him next to Tracey as usual. He took a sip of morning pumpkin juice as Leda looked up from the letter she was reading. Her violet eyes instantly alighted on his grey ones, and she nodded her head once slightly. Draco raised his goblet slightly to her, a subtle reminder for her to eat her breakfast, and returned to his morning deliveries.

The night before she'd sent a note through Crabbe to him that she'd finished the next round of calculations on his spell. He'd quickly written a reply suggesting they meet that night to try this next experiment. He'd had it delivered to her that morning through a school owl.

In the month and a half since Christmas, Draco and Leda had learned which were the best ways to communicate without arousing suspicion. A note here and there through Crabbe and Goyle was fine. Usually, Leda took advantage of this as neither of the two block heads thought to question what they believed would be their future queen. The post was fairly safe, and this was Draco's usual means of communication when they couldn't manage to speak in person to one another, an act they had to monitor carefully.

For the past week, neither had met in the Room of Requirement to work on the Vanishing Cabinet. Draco had quickly fallen behind in his work, and Snape had warned him that he needed to maintain appearances and stay on top of it. He'd been forced to take a break on his mission in order to keep unwanted notice at bay. Leda had been working privately on recalculating the newest version of his original spell. She was by far the most talented and accurate at this, so Draco didn't worry too much leaving it in her capable hands.

He'd been right about her helping him move more quickly with his research and development. They'd been able to try the spell again after some modification only a week after classes began for the new term. They'd made very little progress with it. After that attempt the cabinet made a clicking noise when the door was shut, but the book they'd attempted to send to London was still there when they opened the door with about a third of its mass missing. Draco didn't want to think what the ramifications of that would have been on a person.

It had taken a little more time for this attempt with classes and homework getting in the way, but Draco was beginning to feel hopeful that this was going to fix the damned cabinet at last. Leda had a brilliant idea one night when they were going over the results of the last attempt. She altered the spell's purpose slightly. Draco had focused on repairing the cabinet physically assuming the charms that allowed transport would be fixed as well. Leda had the idea to rebuild the gaps in the charm work with new ones rather than repairing the old ones. It might just work.

Draco found a letter from his mother among the stack of mail that morning. He laid that aside with his Daily Prophet for reading latter on. He found an unexpected letter at the bottom of the pile that made his stomach flip unpleasantly. He shuffled it beneath the rest of his mail quickly and excused himself from the table. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him questioningly, but Draco couldn't be bothered with them at the moment.

In the privacy of an abandoned classroom on the first floor, Draco broke the seal of his letter and read the contents quickly. His hands shook as the words sunk in. He felt the blood drain from his face, and he suddenly felt light headed and very ill.

It was a message from the Dark Lord.

Draco folded the letter and clutched it tightly in his fist. He moved quickly and found Leda just as she was about to enter her first class. He called her name to get her attention, and she gave him a curious look. Normally, she would chew him out for approaching her in public, but his pale face and anxious look held her comments back.

"What is it?" She asked as they ducked into an empty corridor away from the classroom door.

"Run away with me," Draco blurted. He had meant to work up to it, but his panic forced him to throw all caution to the wind.

"You're joking…right?" Leda bent her knees to duck down and catch Draco's down turned eyes.

"No." Draco looked straight at her. "I'm not. Let's go away, far away. We can go anywhere, do anything, and be anything we want. Let's just leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life."

"What? Now? Right now?" Leda's forehead creased in confusion as she tried to figure out where this was coming from.

Since Christmas Day, Leda and Draco had remained silent about their feelings for one another. What was the point on talking about it? They both knew how the other felt, but they couldn't act on it…publically, at least. Draco couldn't walk around calling her his girlfriend, he couldn't throw his arm around her shoulder as other boys did with their girlfriends, he couldn't kiss her, he couldn't take her hand, in fact, he couldn't even been seen beside her too often. He was okay with that, though.

In private, they both experienced a new sort of freedom with each other. There were no more secrets. They said what they meant and left the subtlety of the unspoken word for public. Draco found himself confiding more openly with Leda than ever before. The intimacy of their friendship the year before paled in comparison to what they shared now. Draco supposed it was because they both recognized their feelings were much more substantial than before and what they shared wasn't a crush or a weaker sort of love. This was real, true, and deep. Draco's admission that he would do anything for her had solidified that truth. And he would do anything even kill if she asked for it.

Secretly in the farthest recesses of his mind, Draco had been forming a plan. He knew that unless they did something a future between them was impossible, but he also knew without a waiver of doubt that his future lay with her. Leda was his, and no one would have her but him. So he'd begun planning for a future for them.

They would have to run away. It was the only possible solution. Hoping that Voldemort would be defeated wasn't enough. There was too much room for error in that plan. They could go away, far away, west to America, south to Australia, or north to Russia. They might be able to hide away in a large city closer to home, France or Ireland, perhaps, if the others were too far for Leda. They were young and could muck out a living doing whatever they needed to in order to survive, and then, maybe, if things settled down at home they could come back one day and let their children come to school here.

Children. Draco paused at the word. When had he decided there would be children? He didn't know, but now he'd thought it there was no turning back. Of course, there would be children. Draco knew Leda was going to be the mother of his children. She would be a fine mother, but children would come later. He wanted her to himself for a while before they reproduced.

"No," Draco answered shaking his head and breathing heavily. "We stay until the end of the year. We use the time to gather supplies and get a plan together. Then when we get to London we make a run for it maybe stopping at Gringotts to grab some money first."

Leda took Draco by the hand and led him to the first empty classroom she found seeing that this conversation wasn't going to be over in time for her to make it to her Arithmancy class. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

"I've been kicking the idea around."

"What happened?"

"_He_ sent me this," he replied thrusting the letter at her.

Leda took the letter gingerly like it was possible it could explode if not handled with the appropriate amount of care. She opened and read it slowly.

_I am eager to hear how your work is going._

_From your assistant, I am assured you are making great progress in one area. _

_The other has been delayed long enough. _

_Finish it. _

_Soon._

There were no particulars mentioned, but it was enough for someone who knew all they needed to know. It was from the Dark Lord. Draco was taking too long to kill the Headmaster, and it was a threat. There was an implied messaged added to the end of the note—_Or else._

The unwritten message was what made Draco fear for his life, because he'd begun to realize he couldn't kill Dumbledore even if he had the chance. The Hogwarts Headmaster was the only chance Draco had of getting the chance to live his life with Leda here in the United Kingdom. Otherwise, his and Leda's only options were death or running. He wouldn't choose death.

Leda sighed, folded the letter, and held it out for Draco to take back. "He's only antsy, because you haven't tried anything on Dumbledore since October. I've got an idea that might satisfy his craving for action."

Draco shook his head tiredly. "I don't want to kill Dumbledore. I'm not going to do it, 'Eda."

"It has no shot of actually working, but it's something which should satisfy _Him_."

"No, don't do it."

"You haven't even heard my idea, yet."

"I don't care. I'm done playing by the Dark Lord's rules. Come with me, Leda, please."

"I'll poison a bottle of fine mead," Leda began outlining her plan ignoring Draco's plea. "I'll give it to Slughorn. He's idiotic enough to accept it without question. I can sing to him, make him plan on giving it to Dumbledore. I'll warn the headmaster that it's coming so he doesn't drink from it."

"Stop. Why won't you answer me? Why won't you come with me?"

"It should be enough for now, but we're going to have to think of something better before he gets too angry."

Draco took Leda's hand and tugged on it to get her attention. Leda seemed surprised to see Draco there as though she'd run off to her own little world where no one existed but her. "I'm not doing it any more. I'm through. Now, come with me or not. If you won't, then he'll kill me for failing, but I'll be dead the moment you won't agree."

Leda closed her eyes and breathed in deeply several times. "When I was little and would cry, my grandmother would tell me I could have one tear, just one," she said with her face scrunched up in distress. She opened her eyes and one tear fell down her cheek as she stepped in closer to Draco. "I can't come with you, my dragon."

"Why not? Nothing's stopping you. What would you be leaving behind? Nothing. We could have a good life together. I'll always take care of you and provide for you no matter what it takes."

"And what would you be leaving behind?"

"Nothing."

"What about your family? Your mother? Your father?"

"Nothing is as important to me as you are now. You're the only family I want."

"I can't let you do that," she said softly.

"You mean you won't," Draco returned bitterly looking away.

"No." Leda placed a soft hand to his cheek and forced him to look at her. "I mean I can't. I'm dying, Draco."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the only one of my kind, and apparently there's good reason for humans and sirens not to breed. The two parts of my heritage have been at war with each other since I was born. I've had a healer monitoring my health for as long as I can remember. He's the closest thing I have to a specialist on the matter. He discovered this past summer that the siren part of me is beginning to win over my human half."

"What does that mean?" Draco asked trying to wrap his head around it.

"I don't have a siren's body. When my human blood is completely destroyed by the siren in me, I'll die."

"When—how long do you have?" Draco asked clinging to her delicate hand all the more. If the fear he'd felt when he'd received the letter was panic, he didn't know what to call this chest-constricting, mind-numbing terror. He couldn't live without her. He couldn't lose her.

"My healer's working on a cure, of course, but if he doesn't think of something…It could be anytime, any day. He believes that I might have until I turn eighteen, but nothing is for certain."

"But he's working on a cure," Draco repeated clinging to the only hope he had.

"Yes," Leda said encouragingly leaving out the fact that he'd been working on a cure since she was a toddler and they first discovered her fate. "But if I'm a fugitive and he discovers an answer, it wouldn't do any good. I have to stay not only for that. I have to stay and fight. I can't leave with you."

Leda rubbed her thumb gently across Draco's cheek before beginning to pull her hand away. Draco caught it quickly and kept her hand pressed against his cheek. He closed his eyes and for a brief moment let the sensation against his skin sink in. "Alright. I'll do it all."

With an aching heart, Draco found himself staring down the Vanishing Cabinet for the millionth time late that night. Leda was crouched in her usually hiding place as Draco uttered the incantation. He whipped his wand in the intricate patterns of the spell and felt the magic build up around him.

A trickle of red light issued forth from his wand along with the magic he felt when he'd finished. Draco moved towards the cabinet hopefully and Leda joined him as he opened the cabinet. The damaged inside looked better, not completely repaired, but much better. Leda placed a book inside, and they waited with held breath as the door was shut. A faint clicking noise signaled that it was working, and Draco threw the door open eagerly when it stopped. The book was gone!

"It worked! It actually worked," Leda exclaimed throwing herself into Draco's arms in celebration.

In her excitement, Leda hit the door causing it to swing shut. Draco laughed and swung Leda's light-as-a-feather form around in ecstatic joy. The ominous sound of clicking inside the cabinet interrupted their moment of happiness, however.

Solemnly, Draco put Leda down and reached to open the door. The book lay inside exactly where Leda had placed it. The only difference was that it was completely blackened as though it had been roasted over a fire.

The sight of the ruined book triggered something inside of Draco. He cursed loudly and slammed the door of the cabinet shut with as much force as possible. It wasn't enough, though. He grabbed the next thing his hands found, an elegant chair missing its seat, and smashed it against the floor breaking one of its legs. He continued beating the chair until it was a pile of broken wood at his feet. It still wasn't enough. He pulled out his wand and began destroying objects with cold precision.

Leda stood back and allowed Draco his furious rage on the furniture and objects of the Room of Requirement. It was all too much for him. The fear, the anger, the acceptance of his fate and hers. He needed an outlet, and so Leda stepped aside and stayed out of the path of what amounted to a more destructive temper tantrum until he'd begun to get too close to the cabinet with his curses.

"That's enough," she said firmly touching his shoulder from behind. "Calm down now!"

Draco spun around with his wand dangerously pointed at her. She slowly and deliberately raised her hand to alight over his. She forced the wand down while maintaining eye contact with the man she loved. His face was red with rage, but when he realized who he was threatening he opened his hand holding his wand and let it fall with a clink to the floor. His entire body jerked at the sound of his wand making contact with the floor, and it was like a switch allowing Draco's anger to be replaced with desperation. Tears formed in his eyes, and the blood from his face drained.

"It's alright. Everything will be alright," Leda said soothingly stepping in and wrapping her arms around him.

Draco allowed her to embrace him pressing his face into her hair. He began crying uncontrollably, and Leda understood him perfectly in that moment. She didn't think less of him for crying. She was too relieved he was letting his emotions out rather than allowing them to fester inside eating away at his soul. She wished she could cry, too. She certainly had enough to cry about, but she'd shed her one tear. She couldn't afford any more than that.

Leda held Draco for a long time before hearing a tune inside her mind. She didn't realize she was humming it until Draco's body began to relax. She felt the muscles of his back release their tense clutching beneath her fingers. His crying quieted until she was fairly certain he'd stopped. She imagined her song drawing out the poison of bad feeling out of Draco slowly starting with his feet and moving up to the top of his head. Then she imagined peace and an overwhelming sense of being loved replacing his high-strung emotions. She felt his lips press gently against her damp neck as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair when she'd finished the song.

Her song hadn't been sung aloud, so its effect would be limited. He'd still have a little of his old feelings, and the calm she'd imposed over him wouldn't last forever. It helped, though, and she was willing to stand there in his arms for as long as it took him to master the bad feelings on his own. They remained like that for an hour without speaking and without either pulling away.

"What did you do to me?" He asked breaking the silence as Leda's feet went numb but without moving an inch. "I've never felt this way before. So…"

"Relaxed?" Leda interjected helpfully.

"So loved."

Leda didn't say anything at first. She trailed her hands up his back slowly letting her fingers memorize the rise and hollows his muscle and bone formed there.

"I just sucked out the bad stuff and replaced it with good feelings," she answered threading her fingers through his hair again. Was it normal for boys to have such soft, silky hair? It was delicious to feel. "No hidden messages. I promise."

"I've never felt _this_ good before," Draco said pressing another kiss to Leda's neck. "I'm sorry about all that. Merlin, what you must think of me crying like a little girl."

"Trust me," Leda replied a little intoxicated by Draco's presence and light kisses. "I don't think you're a girl."

"A boy?" Draco asked pressing firmer kisses into the juncture between Leda's neck and shoulder after pushing aside her robes.

"Mmmm, maybe."

Draco licked the tenderest portion of her flesh as though he'd known exactly its effect on Leda. Her eyes rolled back in her head, her knees felt weak, and suddenly Draco's arms were supporting her rather than taking comfort from her. "A man, perhaps?"

Leda didn't reply, couldn't answer. Draco pulled away enough to look at her, and they shared a long charged look. His eyes were red and swollen, but that didn't hinder the look of desire in them from Leda. She knew her own must share a similar expression.

Draco leaned in and kissed her soundly. Leda had never been kissed before, but this wasn't anything liked she imagined. She'd grown up in a world where feelings were simple and fairly linear. She imagined kissing would be a neat expression of love, a simple enough emotion. This was nothing like that. There was love in this kiss, but there was also desire, promise, and carnal lust she'd never known before. It was messy and incredible. She never wanted to stop kissing Draco. Why hadn't she done this sooner?

It was Draco who pulled away first for air. Leda tried to keep her lips pressed to his when he released the lip he'd been playfully nibbling on and moved back. Her eyes fluttered open slowly as though she'd forgotten how to perform that simple act. Draco smirked pleased with her reaction to his attentions.

"Don't stop," she pouted.

Draco chuckled and led her by the hand to the beat up old desk nearby which had managed to make it out of his rage safely. He placed both hands on her sides and helped her jump to sit atop the scratched surface.

"Now I can reach you better," he teased kissing the corner of her mouth.

The desk did allow them better access to one another. Draco didn't have to crane down as much, and Leda didn't have to stand on tip-toe to reach Draco's lips when he pulled away. She used this to her advantage now as he teased her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and forced him to kiss her properly. He obliged with a faint smile soon whipped away by her own teasing.

Draco used one large hand to press against her lower back encouraging her to move closer to him. Her knees dug into his stomach until she obliging parted them allowing him to stand against the desk and press his chest to hers. Her flat stomach pressed against his own as he allowed his free hand access to her lovely hair. His fingers quickly tangled in the feather soft tresses.

Leda was not idyll all this time. When Draco licked at the opening of her lips, she parted them eagerly not knowing what to expect as Draco's tongue began exploring her mouth. The sensations were divine, and she allowed her hands to run through Draco's blonde hair in pleasure. She accidently scrapped his scalp with her fingernails when Draco sucked gently on her tongue inviting her to explore his mouth. She felt bad about it instantly when he moaned in reaction and meant to apologize. Draco's hold on her mouth wasn't easily broken, though, and he nipped lightly, pleasantly at her tongue. She figured she hadn't hurt him too badly if he wasn't demanding an apology.

Draco had kissed many girls in his young life, but kissing Leda was nothing like kissing the others. It was evident she'd never done this before, but she was a fast learner. Despite her inexperience, she was driving him absolutely mad, something no girl could have ever matched. If he was right, this was her first time kissing a boy like this, but her willingness to experiment and boldness spoke to greater experience. His blood was on fire, his mind was temporarily unavailable, and his body was overloaded with more than pleasant sensations.

Draco tensed when he felt Leda's legs wrap around his waist and lock behind him, an obvious invitation to greater pursuits. It was a wake-up call. Too fast. His blasted mind stepped in and reigned in his hormones. He pulled away from Leda reluctantly.

"Don't stop," Leda breathed eyes still closed and properly kissed lips parted in invitation.

She opened her eyes when Draco didn't reply or return to kiss her further.

"I'm sorry, but I have to," Draco answered seriously letting his smirk fall.

"Why?" Leda asked innocently.

"I have to stop now, because I won't be able to later." She wouldn't understand what that meant, but he didn't want to walk her through the mechanics of a guy's brain tonight when he was still feeling so good.

"Who said you have to ever stop?"

"This is only leading to one thing, 'Eda," he said softly. "There is a point of no return, and I don't want to rush you. You've never been with anyone, right?"

"I've never kissed anyone until now," Leda nodded.

Draco didn't bother to hold hide his happy smile back. He'd been right. He was her first kiss. He'd be her last if he had anything to do or say about it. She was his and his alone.

"And I think that's enough for tonight," Draco said kissing her temple lovingly.

"Are you sure?" Leda asked seductively leaning forward.

Draco had to force himself to shake the cloud of lust that flooded his mind with Leda so near, but he managed to succeed. "Yes."

Leda snaked her hands around Draco's neck and moved her lips towards Draco's neck mimicking his attack earlier. "Absolutely sure?"

He was a little more uncertainly, but he still managed to utter a shaky, "Yes."

"Fine," she exclaimed petulantly in his ear. He could feel her breath against his neck. "Remember one thing, though."

"What?"

"You are mine, Draco, all mine. I will not share you with anyone. Remember that," she warned before biting his neck.


End file.
